Aspects Of Love
by micatite
Summary: Just a place to put my little romantic oneshot ficlets and drabbles. A celebration of love and life. Shitennou X Senshi and probably heavy on Makoto X Nephrite. The rating has gone up.
1. Fever

"Come on, love. Open up that pretty mouth and let me slide this in," Nephrite's darkly sensual voice all but purred as he coaxed her.

"Ugh. Jus…go 'way…" Makoto's germy groan was muffed, her aching head buried under her pillow. She inched further under her blankets, burrowing into them and pulling the fat pillow in afterward like the stopper on a thermos bottle. It was disgusting how any man could be so chipper while she was feeling so thoroughly wretched.

Why couldn't he just leave her ALONE in her misery? She didn't want any aspirin. She didn't want any orange juice. She just wanted to be left in peace. To die. And if he came at her with that blasted thermometer one more time…

"Sorry honey. No can do." He lightly tapped the soup spoon against the white comforter lump that he thought was the back of her head.

A congested, mucousy something that might have been, "I hate you," came from under the tangled bedclothes, making him chuckle when it was punctuated by a violent sneeze. Beneath the sheets she couldn't see the smug smile curving his lips, but she knew it was there and it infuriated her. Evil man.

Ruthlessly, Nephrite peeled the pillow away from her, ignoring her ragged curses as she tried to fight him for it. In her flu-weakened state she had about as much chance of fending him off as a newborn kitten. "I've got to take your temperature and you need to drink some hot tea and broth because you need fluids. Ami said."

Makoto squinted at him through blood-shot eyes, snarling like a wounded wolverine. "Go 'way…and take your $#&ing chicken soup with you."

"If you don't let me do this, I'll let Nurse Minako in after you," he informed her cruelly, knowing he'd won when she flinched. She stuck her tongue out at him, though, defiant to the last.

Taking advantage of her open mouth, he poked the glass cylinder of the thermometer between her lips, cutting off any further protests, and smiled at her as his watch ticked off the seconds. Makoto stared at him mutinously with fever-bright eyes and sniffled pitifully. Grabbing a cool damp washcloth, Nephrite smoothed her sweat-matted tangle of curls back from her hot flushed face and marveled how even bed-ridden, potentially contagious and as welcoming as a rabid pit-bull, she still looked good.

It had to be true love.


	2. Hang Ups

Bubbles, bubbles everywhere. And the damned telephone jangling demandingly in the midst of it.

"Daddy," a sweet girlish voice chirped helpfully as the speaker batted happily at the mounds of glittering suds that coated every square inch of the kitchen's tile floor and piled up against the walls in fluffy, billowing drifts, "the telephone's ringing."

"I know sweetie," her harassed father replied, trying to dump yet another dustpan full of suds down the sink. It was amazing. The more he got rid of, the more seemed to keep coming. He'd already been working for more than a half an hour on the cleanup. It was endless, almost. Thank kami that Makoto was off guarding Serenity on her tour of Eastern Europe and Russia. Because if his wife ever found out about what had happened in the inner sanctum, her precious kitchen (and particularly to her prized Viking dishwasher), he was a dead man. But was it really his fault? He'd merely made a perfectly understandable mix-up while cleaning up after lunch. After all, who knew that dishwashing soap and dishwasher soap weren't fully interchangeable?

The phone shrilled again, more insistently.

Without warning his two-year old daughter, Amasa made a slippery dash through the foam and grabbed the handset from its cradle. Lemon-scented frothy lather spattered her from the tips of her lopsided russet pigtails to her jelly smeared, mint overalls to her soggy Mary-Janes.

"Oshi-oshi," she graced the caller with her toddler's version of a greeting and then began jabbering away a mile a minute. He bit back the curse that threatened to erupt, unwilling to sully his innocent little girl's ears with profanity. When he'd discovered the overflowing dishwasher while taking her to get a quick snack, she'd already heard a word that, if repeated in front of her mother, was going to get him in a lot of trouble.

He needed help. Maybe, he thought, he could enlist Jadeite to help him clean. Jadeite would understand how the mix-up had occurred, he having committed more than a few acts of unthinking stupidity in his time. It was surprisingly easy to do when distracted by a busy two-year old. And he could bribe the man into silence with a bottle…okay a few bottles of good scotch.

With any luck Makoto would never know. And at least the floor would be clean.

Sudden silence had Nephrite lifting his head.

"For 'ou, daddy." Laughing, Amasa held out the telephone to him and blew at a passing bubble that threatened to land on her pert, freckled nose. He warily took the phone.

"Moshi-moshi," he barked into the receiver. 'Please let it be Jadeite. Or Kunzite. Or anyone but…'

The sound of a kiss met his ear a second before Makoto's cheerful voice filled the line. "Konnichiwa, darling. I miss you so much. Serenity's enjoying seeing Red Square and I've collected some interesting recipes along the way, but I must say, one onion dome is starting to look a lot like another to me and I can't wait to get home. I hope Amasa-chan's behaving herself, for your sake. Why'd she pick up the phone anyway?" Innocently she asked just the wrong question. "Is something going on?

Nephrite stared at the kitchen. The dishwasher was still wheezing like a dying rhino and burping out soapsuds intermittently. Amasa was skating through them, giggling and flailing her arms about to stir them up. She sneezed as one accidentally went up her nose, slipped, and fell down in a heap, bumping her head on a cupboard. More startled than hurt, she nonetheless began to wail.

Nephrite felt a pounding behind his eyelids. Makoto had left him in charge, trusting him with their daughter and their home, and now it was all falling to pieces in her absence. Finding himself shin-deep in suds while his daughter cried was the very last straw. What in Terra's name had she been thinking?!

"Honey?" Makoto prodded, when she received no answer. What was going on?

And without warning Nephrite yelled like he hadn't yelled in a very long time. "WHY THE HELL DIDN'T YOU BUY DISHWASHER SOAP BEFORE YOU LEFT?!"

There was silence from Makoto's end of the phone. Suddenly she had a very good idea of what was probably going on. The mental picture was too much. A sudden, nervous squeak of laughter escaped before she could help herself.

"MAKOTO!" he hollered, a red haze dancing in front of his eyes. "It's not funny!"

"Oops!I'vegottagocauseSerenity'scallingme.Loveandkissestoyouboth.Andwe'llbehomeinaweek.Don'tcallme.I'llcallyou.Bye!" The rapid-fire scattershot of wifely conversation terminated with a click, following which Makoto threw herself on her hotel bed and laughed until she cried. Nephrite stared disbelieving at the handset which buzzed tauntingly at him. He bit back the sudden urge to hop up and down like an infuriated Rumplestiltskin.

She'd hung up on him.

Even though she was a continent away, he couldn't help screaming her name at the top of his lungs as he slammed down the phone, wondering what had possessed him to marry such an aggravating, infuriating woman.

A soggy sniffle from his little girl drew his attention back to the situation at hand. Gathering her close, he looked her over carefully, kissing her forehead. She had a slight goose egg forming on the back of her head, but otherwise appeared fine, even gracing him with a watery smile when he tweaked her pigtail. Popping a thumb in her mouth, she latched onto his leg and looked at him with her mother's trusting emerald eyes. The ones that could, in both mother and daughter, turn him into a silly-putty shell of himself. And then he remembered.

Ah…right. That was why.


	3. Not From Around Here

Terran Palace – Silver Millennium

"Where's Endy today, Jadeite?" asked Zoisite, the seven-year old Shitennou-in-training, tugging at his friend's flowing sleeve. "He's not training with Kunzite, is he?"

His companion, a sunny blond boy of eight, screwed his face up as though faced with the prospect of eating a rotten parsnip…or indeed, any vegetable. "Nah. Kunzite said he had to go talk to some girls from out'r space. Some queen of someplace came and brought princesses an' they've gotta be en'ertained. Bet he's bored silly."

"Probably," agreed a third boy, sounding as lofty as his superior ten years allowed. He tossed his mahogany brown locks back out of the way as he opined, "Princesses are stuffy and prissy." He grinned, sapphire eyes twinkling with amusement, and waved his wooden sword about. "Hey, I know. We're s'posed to be Endy's protector's one day. Let's go rescue him from the girls now. It'll be fun. And then we can play combat."

Jadeite grinned broadly, his azure eyes twinkling with the prospect of mischief. "That's a great idea. He'll thank us for it. Come on Zoi. Let's us and Neph save Endy!"

The three boys trooped through the castle, finally tracking down their friend and future sovereign in the anteroom adjacent to the Terran palace throne room. The Prince of Earth was perched on a velvet chair before the fireplace, flanked on either side by a five-year old girl.

The Crown Princess of Mars, Raye, sat rigidly upright in her seat. She was garbed in the simple, elegant flowing robes of her people, in a shade of silvery-lavender that complimented her large purple-violet eyes, which were the rich color of pansies' hearts. A tiny amethyst studded silver tiara swept back the raven's-wing fall of her hair. A small plush toy of a black bird just peeked out from her wide, bell-shaped sleeve. She was making proper genteel conversation, child style, with the prince.

By contrast the heiress apparent to the throne of Jupiter, Princess Lita, was clad in a dress that was a confection of tier upon tier of sugar pink ruffles and point lace that made her bright green eyes seem to shine all the brighter. She wore a double circlet of gold around her forehead and on either side, above her ears, sported enormous Jovian pink poppies, each as large as a grown-up's hand. Beneath each poppy, her hair fell to her waist in a long red-brown pigtail. She was swinging her feet back and forth in a constant motion, looking like she would prefer to be anywhere but there, so it was with interest that she observed the newcomers, cocking her head to one side as they entered.

"H'lo," she greeted the boys, waving at them and smiling brightly. Jadeite took one look at the brunette princess' pigtails and began to laugh, whispering something in a loud stage whisper to Nephrite about, "…like my spaniel's ears." Lita's eyes narrowed ominously, especially when she noticed the brown-haired, blue eyed boy straining himself not to laugh.

The little Martian princess glared down her patrician nose at the blond. "You're a very rude boy," she informed him, her tone tart. He grinned unrepentantly, not in the least cowed by her scathing words, and gave her a saucy wink.

"Hrmph." She turned away, her face going red, and wrinkled her nose in distaste. Jadeite crowed in delight.

Zoisite was the one to speak, merely intent on collecting someone who could even the odds in a training battle. "Endy-kun, let's go. We wanna play swords. With you we can have a fair fight, two on each side."

Prince Endymion frowned. He wanted to, really, but he'd been told he had to entertain the two young royals while the grown-ups discussed a treaty of some sort. He was about to say as much when the pink-clad princess seemed to brighten, leaping down to the floor in a flurry of ruffles. Wrapping a fat russet curl around one fingertip, she chirped, "That sounds fun. I wanna play."

Not about to be outdone, the princess in lavender climbed down from her chair and added her voice. "Me too."

"No way. Girls can't fight," Jadeite pronounced, looking distinctly smug at having been born a boy. "Ev'ryone knows that." He looked over at his partners in crime for backup. Nephrite shook his head briskly in agreement, though Zoisite merely looked worried, twisting the end of his copper-tinged ponytail anxiously.

"Can so," insisted Raye, looking obstinate.

"Yeah," Lita stuck out her lower lip in a pout a bird could have perched on. "We can do anything boys can."

"Can't." Jadeite swaggered over, brandishing his wooden practice blade in front of Raye tauntingly. She batted at it with the stuffed raven in her hand, parrying his thrust.

"Yeah," Nephrite agreed, sneering at the little princesses, particularly the one in pink. "You might muss your ruffles." He reached out his hand, tweaking a pigtail, chortling when he heard her squeal of indignation. "Why don't you two go play tea party or something? Girls can't fight with blades."

In actual fact, the little pink-clad princess normally would have had no objections to playing tea party, it being one of her favorite games. But she certainly didn't mind fighting either. And most importantly, she detested being teased. Lita's face flushed angrily and she glared at the brown-haired boy, hands going to her hips where they bunched into fists.

As for Raye, NO ONE had ever told her she couldn't do something just because she was a girl. She wasn't about to let anyone do it now.

Lita and Raye exchanged glances and a moment of silent communion seemed to pass between them. With nary a word spoken, they turned as one toward Nephrite and Jadeite, their emerald and amethyst eyes glittering dangerously. Without warning they pounced, yelling together, "CAN!"

Nephrite and Jadeite found themselves each wrestling a kicking, screaming, scratching, clawing, and punching scrap of spitting mad female royalty. The attack coming out of the clear blue as it had, they never stood a chance. They went down in a tangle of petticoats and ruffles as the girls pummeled them furiously. Jadeite's practice sword was the first casualty, snapping in two as he fell under the Martian princess's attack.

Endymion, Zoisite and every other person in the room gawked, completely speechless. It became clear immediately that none of the servants or guards had a clue what the socially correct response was to a brawl started by two spitfire galactic princesses. The boys, therefore, were left to defend themselves as best they could.

The sound of grunts and squeals and shouts and the sharp sound of ripping fabric filled the air, punctuated by the sound of small fists meeting flesh. There were even flashes of green and red light. And then quite suddenly, over the din a voice could be heard, though only because the speaker was yelling at the top of her lungs.

"VERITY LITA! DIVINITY RAYE!"

Both future planetary sovereigns flinched, froze, then glanced guiltily over their shoulders as their nursemaid glared at them, crossing her arms over her ample bosom and tapping her foot.

"I am shocked, I tell you. Absolutely shocked. Come along this instant!" She pointed at the door. Her voice brooked no argument. "Just wait until I tell your parents about this."

The tiny raven-haired princess stuck her tongue out one last time at Jadeite, who stared at her dumbstruck, swiping absently at the blood which trickled from his battered nose. She smirked at him and spun away with a regal flounce, head held high.

Nephrite couldn't resist provoking the hot-headed Jovian princess one last time. After all, her nursemaid was here now. What could she do to him?

"Hah!" he snickered, "You're going to get it."

The pigtailed princess curled up her lip defiantly and hit Nephrite one last time, the sucker punch a blow to the eye that smacked his head back against the stone floor as well. He would later swear that he heard a thunderclap at that moment, although the servants assured him it was just his hard head striking the slate tiles. While he lay there, stunned and seeing stars, she hurled his wooden sword into the fire where it sizzled and was gone in an instant. The princess then righted herself, re-fluffed her ruffles, straightened her torn sleeve, and stormed away, pigtails flying.

Jadeite and Nephrite lay on the floor for a long moment, staring at the door through which the two girls and their nursemaid had disappeared and wondering exactly what had happened.

Neither Jadeite's broken nose, nor Nephrite's black eye, nor even Kunzite's blistering scolding after the fact stung as much as Endymion and Zoisite's hysterical laughter over Nephrite and Jadeite's having been trounced by a pair of princesses who were far younger than they. But both boys had learned something important from the encounter with the two planetary princesses. One thing had been crystal clear.

At least when it came to girls, they didn't grow 'em like that on Earth.

(Note: Lita's headdress is similar to Ozma of Oz's from the illustrations in the Oz books)


	4. Secret Santas

"That's very…um…pink."

Kunzite peered over Nephrite's shoulder at the monitor. Clicking the Buy It Now option to purchase the old Easy Bake Oven, Nephrite nodded. "I know. But it's for Makoto, so it's all right. She'll love it. I'm just lucky they still make the little cake mixes and frostings for those things. Note to self. Must buy candy sprinkles."

Logging off, he turned away from the computer and picked up a small gift-wrapped box, tossing it lightly into the air. It seemed to weigh nothing at all.

"What's that?" Jadeite asked, eying the tiny box speculatively. "We said no jewelry this year."

"This?" At the nod, Nephrite smiled faintly, fingering the tangled emerald curling ribbon. "Well, I saw this old picture of Mako when her orphanage took the kids to the ice rink. Nearly every other girl I could see in the photo had some little yarn pom-pom things tied to the laces of their skates…except Makoto. Her rented skates looked so bare in comparison. So I looked around until I found some directions on making them on a craft site. It's amazing what you can do with a little pink and green yarn and two cardboard disks with holes in the middle."

Zoisite raised an eyebrow. "You made them yourself? And went to a crafting site to learn to do it? Really?"

At Nephrite's nod, a worried frown creased Kunzite's forehead. "Damn."

"What?"

"It's just that it means I'm going to have to up the ante," Kunzite explained. "Because idol lover or no, the Mr. Microphone toy I found for Minako isn't going to cut it when she hears that you made Makoto something by hand. She's going to think that was the sweetest thing ever and if I can't come up with something as good…"

Kunzite's voice trailed off meaningfully. A smug smile flitted across Nephrite's lips and he flipped the pom-pom gift box in the air again. Makoto would love the gooey sentimentality and thoughtfulness of it and all the girls would definitely hear about it later. "Not my problem, Kunz." Mentally, though, Nephrite made a note to buy himself and Makoto each a pair of sound-deadening earmuffs. 'Mr. Microphone indeed.'

"I'm the one who needs help here, dammit!" Frustrated, Jadeite dragged a hand through his hair rumpling it wildly. "Rei's Shinto, for crying out loud. She never celebrated Christmas as a kid. And she's never been the most forthcoming woman anyway. How am I supposed to find out what toy she wanted as a kid but didn't get?"

"Shhhh…keep it down," hissed Zoisite, making a shushing motion. "You don't want to spoil everyone's surprises by letting the girls overhear you, do you?"

"You could get Rei a voodoo doll of her father and a bunch of sharp pins," Endymion interjected, only half joking. He was busily wrapping up a collection of UFO catcher dolls for Serenity, who'd never been physically coordinated enough to win them herself as a girl. Through much hard work and dickering with some very rabid collectors, he'd managed to find one of each Senshi, a rose-bearing Tuxedo Kamen, Luna, Artemis and even a set of the Shitennou. She'd get the whole court in plushie form.

"Serves you all right if it's hard for you. It was my brilliant idea to get Makoto something she always wanted as a kid but never got. And then you all stole it." Nephrite's tone was distinctly unsympathetic, though he did pick up one of the old Searsu Wishbook catalogues they'd unearthed and start flipping through it.

"How about a wood burning kit?" Kunzite, as usual, sounded serious, but Jadeite shot him a 'Get real!' look that had the tall, silver-haired man looking mildly embarrassed. "It was just a suggestion."

Zoisite peered at his catalogue, perusing the games section. "How about a Ouiji board?"

"Are you nuts?" demanded Jadeite. "She'd probably predict the next friggin' apocalypse with one of those things. I want something fun for her. Something light. Something that won't find my ass in a sling on Christmas morning."

"Did you ever find that toy doctor's kit for Ami?" Nephrite inquired, glancing over at Zoisite. "I can't believe she never got one of those as a kid."

"Her mother didn't think they were sufficiently…authentic," Zoisite replied, with a shrug of his shoulders and a roll of his bottle-green eyes. "But yes, I did. It was hard to find one that was complete, though. I finally had to settle for one that had everything but the eye-chart."

Nephrite snickered. "An eye-chart? So THAT'S why I saw you laminating that page the other day that said stuff like 'Zoi is sexy' and 'Mercury loves Zoisite' and 'Kiss me, I'm a Shitennou' in all the different sized type."

The four other men laughed easily as a dull brick red color burned across Zoisite's cheekbones.

"Help me, guys," moaned Jadeite. "I can't do this. I wish Rei's grandfather were alive so I could ask him."

Zoisite grabbed a black orb off of Endymion's office shelf, shaking it. Theatrically he intoned, "Oh mystic Magic 8 Ball, reveal to us what Jadeite should give Rei for Christmas."

Slowly the fortune-revealing triangle swam into view through a haze of murky purple liquid. "Ask again later," Nephrite read off, deadpan. "So much for asking the special powers of beyond for help."

A dark-eyed, scowling Jadeite slammed his fist down on the desk, making Endymion wince for his furniture's finish. "That's not funny, Zoisite."

"I've got an idea," Kunzite said suddenly, tapping a finger against his jaw.

Suddenly hopeful aquamarine eyes fixed on him. "What is it? Speak up!"

"Jadeite, you said it yourself. She was raised Shinto and never celebrated Christmas as a kid. Simple enough, then. Just dress yourself up in the suit and give her Santa himself as a present. You can get her to sit on your lap and tell you just what she wants"

A wickedly amused glint seemed to warm Kunzite's cool grey eyes. He wasn't married to the Senshi of Love for nothing, after all. "We'll just not expect to see you both in public until sometime after New Years."


	5. Bon Appêtit

The rich, full-bodied scent of fresh brewed coffee stirred him as it wafted into the room, its heady vapor as alluring as a siren's song to the newly woken. He knew there would be fresh-squeezed orange juice in the fridge and muffins too, sweet and wholesome, home-made for his breakfast.

Nephrite, though, was disappointed. Smelling coffee instead of the tang of citrus next to him in bed meant that she'd already left for work and he'd missed seeing her off with a kiss. He still reached for her, though, hoping. When he found her space both empty and the sheets cool, he growled at himself for sleeping in and made a mental note to set the alarm clock for earlier the next morning.

Groaning, he kicked aside the covers and plodded into the bathroom to have a shower. While the steaming water beat down over him, he considered how lucky he was. He ought to be grateful. He was living in Kino Makoto's apartment, sharing her home, her bed and her life. She fussed over him, cooked for him, and generally pampered him silly. She had, practically since the first stormy night they'd met again.

She said she loved him.

God knew he loved her.

He'd still half expected her to murder him on the spot, though. She DID have a hair-trigger temper and she'd surely had every right. It would have been no more than justified really, seeing as he had done that to her an age ago while lost in thrall to an otherworldly demon.

In spite of the hot water pounding onto his shoulders, he shuddered, feeling an icy chill shiver up his spine, and he scrubbed fiercely with the washcloth as if he could scour away the miserable image, though he suspected it was burned into his brain for all time. It was one of a number of too-vivid memories that he could have done without after his resurrection. He suspected, though she never said so, that it was seared into hers as well. Yet for that and the rest of his crimes, and there had been many, though none of the magnitude of THAT one, she had still managed somehow to forgive him.

Well, first she'd fainted.

But after she'd come around from the first shock of seeing him alive again, she'd drawn him closer, wrapping her arms around his neck, and gazed on him with haunting eyes. She'd cried then, nearly ripping his heart out as her teardrops fell on his cheeks, mingling with the rain which poured down on them. Then he'd realized that she was smiling through her tears, thanking Selenity for bringing him back to her. And she was holding him as if she'd never let him go.

She hadn't yet, a fact that never ceased to amaze him.

Yes, he thought as he twisted the tap, shutting off the flow before the not unlimited supply of hot water could run out, he was quite possibly the luckiest damned man on the planet. But it still aggravated him that she'd slipped out that morning before he woke. He had a millennia's worth of good-morning kisses to catch up on. Relishing the thought he vowed that he would definitely reset the alarm clock.

Standing before the bathroom mirror with only a towel wrapped around his waist, Nephrite reached for his shaving cream. To find it he had to fumble through a number of different bottles and tubes cluttering the counters. His and hers. It was nice seeing her beauty things mixed in amongst his own toiletries. Cozy and couple-like. It gave him hope that she'd accept a certain finely chased gold ring he'd been trying to get up the nerve to give her.

His lips quirked up in a bemused grin as he studied the bottles while absently lathering his chin. He'd never realized before how many of the darned things she had. She certainly didn't need any cosmetic help in his opinion. Her peaches and cream skin was soft as silk and she was so naturally pretty, beautiful actually, she regularly took his breath away. Whatever, then, did she use them all for?

Silently he took stock of them and he chuckled as he perused the labels. They spoke volumes about her, looking more like the list for a green grocer than a beauty counter.

In clear deference to his presence in her, no…their home, the soap and shampoo bore no special scent. But there was a bottle of coconut conditioner and a can of green-apple styling mousse mingling with jars of melon scented bath oil beads and apricot-almond facial scrub. Raspberry-peach lotion shared space with mango-kiwi shower gel. The lemon-mint body spray explained the fresh citrus scent that he now associated with her. He also knew she used a particularly tantalizing cherry-berry lip gloss, because he'd become addicted to that special ambrosial flavor of her kisses.

Yep, his lover was a cook, alright. And you could take the cook out of the kitchen, but evidently you just couldn't take the kitchen out of the cook. It was no wonder she both smelled and tasted so damned good all the time.

Picking up his razor, he then noticed the note penned in Makoto's hand on a piece of pale mint green stationary and taped to the mirror over the sink.

_Good morning, sleepyhead_, she'd written. _Don't forget to make the bed before you leave for work. Your breakfast is keeping warm in the oven. Just wanted to let you know that I've got to work a double shift today at the restaurant today, so you're on your own for supper. But call me later and let me know what you want. I'll bring home something sweet for us for dessert. Love, Mako_

An anticipatory smile curved across Nephrite's face and he closed his eyes, lost for a moment in a delicious fantasy sparked by the fruity assortment of beauty products. For herself she could bring home whatever treat most suited her fancy. For him, however, she wouldn't have to bring home anything but her luscious self. He'd feast on fruit salad a la sweet Makoto.


	6. Satisfaction

"Ooooooooh! Damn the man! No…wait. Damn all Terrans to the fiery Pit!"

The door to the royal sitting room slammed so hard it bounced open again once before finally settling closed.

"Well good afternoon, sunshine," Princess Minya of Venus greeted the infuriated princess of Mars, barely managing to keep a straight face. The regular lover's spats between Raye and her latest beau, the Terran Shitennou of the Far East were rapidly becoming one of the prime sources of amusement and gossip at court. Princess Serenity had no such luck containing herself, grinning broadly at the prospect of new and interesting entertainment.

"So exactly why are you intent on killing Lord Jadeite today, Raye?" inquired the Mercurian princess over the cover of her book, with the detached air of a scientist taking notes on a subject of continuing interest.

"This is the final, the last, the absolute end!" fumed the irate woman. Her raven dark hair swirled around her in a frenzy as she paced.

"What is?" inquired yet another royal, poking her pony-tailed head out from the adjoining room where she was busy perfecting a new recipe.

"He all but accused me of playing false with him, the bastard! And to try and make him jealous, no less!"

The princesses of the royal court stared, speechless for a moment. Even Amity, called Amy, in an entirely un-Amy-like fashion, gaped. The ringing crash of a dropped metal tray in the other room indicated Jovian princess' level of stupefaction at the accusation.

"You're kidding!" Serenity whimpered, wringing her hands.

"No I most certainly am not kidding," Raye growled, snatching a crystal trinket off the nearest table and hurling it at the wall where it shattered with a satisfying smash. Unobtrusively the other women quickly removed all breakables from Raye's immediate reach. She glanced around, looking for another missile. Finding none, she vowed, "He'll rue the day he insulted me in such a fashion!"

Her green eyes narrowed like a cat's and sparking with temper, Lita stalked into the sitting room and began pacing with her friend. She flexed her fingers experimentally, then curled them into a fist.

"He shouldn't think he'd be allowed to besmirch a lady's good name like that. Would you like me to go explain a few things to that Terran lunkhead, Raye?"

Amy winced, having visions of the blond Terran lord staked out on a lightning ant hill in the fashion of Lita's Amazonian ancestresses. Waving her hands in the air, she tried to cool overheated tempers. "Now, don't let's blow this out of proportion. Why would he think that, Raye? He must have had SOME reason."

Raye snarled, pinning the petite woman with a venomous look. "He saw Princess Uranus being, well, Uranus. And he immediately thought the worst of me. Now if nobody minds, I don't want to discuss it any further. I have a murder to plan and an alibi to create."

She stalked out of the room, practically leaving singe marks in her wake.

"P-princess Uranus? But Amara always looks and dresses and flirts like a…a man." Lita's righteous indignation on her friend's behalf faded at Raye's exit confession, leaving the Jovian looking confused at best. She glanced over at Serenity and the others. "Has the Earth entourage even met the Outer Princesses?"

Amy shook her head mutely and sighed, setting her book aside to go on an errand of peace to the wing of the palace where the Terrans were staying. Someone had to.

A disgusted look marred Minya's pretty face. "Knowing Amara, she was probably flirting outrageously like always. And Jadeite's so gone on Raye. Well, it's no wonder he got jealous. I'm only surprised that Amara's not here crowing about it yet."

Not quite ready to let the Earth lord entirely off the hook, Lita scowled, picking up the cookies that she'd dropped and began piling their broken bits on her now dented baking sheet. "He really ought to have known Raye's character better than to think that of her."

The Venusian rolled her baby-blue eyes and sniffed. "What can I say? Jealous men are stupid men. And stupid men say stupid things."

"It could have been so easily handled," Serenity moaned. "But Raye's so proud she'd never have explained the mix-up."

Minya, the most learned in matters of love, summed it up best.

"I swear those two invent more reasons to squabble than any couple I have ever known. I can only assume that it's the making up that gives them a charge."

**- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - **

The soft satin of a long, lavender evening glove lashed across his cheek without warning, making both the Shitennou of the Far East and Princess Amy jump.

"What was that for?" he barked, turning to glower at the Martian princess and rubbing his face. The soft glove hadn't hurt him, but it was the principle of the thing.

"I challenge you to a duel," Raye snapped, throwing her version of the gauntlet to the floor, completing the ritual. "You insulted my honor and I demand satisfaction."

Jadeite's golden brown eyebrows shot upward, practically disappearing beneath the tumbling fall of his rumpled bangs.

"WHAT?! You're blaming me for this fiasco? You could have defused the situation with a single word, **Princess**." He practically spat the last word. Amy tried to slip away unnoticed but froze guiltily when the Martian princess shot an 'I'll deal with you later' glare at the traitorous blue-haired bluestocking. Caught!

She was saved when one of Jadeite's fellow warriors unwittingly stumbled in on the dangerous scene. Galvanized by the presence of the strawberry blond man, Amy grabbed his hand and dragged him away to safety, mumbling apologies left and right. Jadeite and Raye never really noticed the other man's entrance or exit, caught up in their building argument.

"Well it's certainly not my fault you can't recognize a woman when you see one!" Raye was not about to accept blame for his misconception or bruised ego. "You should have trusted me, dolt! But you went off slandering me instead!" she yelled.

"And you can't say you didn't get a kick out of seeing me jealous because otherwise you would have explained before I made a fool out of myself!" hollered Jadeite, red-faced, wondering why his contrary lover had to look so damned appealing…especially when she was mad at him. Raye was like a fever in his blood.

She _had_ rather enjoyed seeing him jealous for a bit, a tiny voice whispered. Raye firmly squashed the feeling of guilt before it could push her into the trap of feeling sorry for him. Blast it, he had still insulted her.

"I admit I overreacted," he continued, his face a black study, "but you're as much responsible as I, Raye." His eyes blazed with blue intense flame. "Maybe more! You deliberately encouraged me in the wrong direction for your own amusement."

The sting of truth in his words only strengthened her angry resolve. Firmly she told herself that he was not, not, NOT the best looking man she'd ever seen…especially when he was mad. It was a big universe. There was someone else who could look better. There had to be.

"More insults? How dare you say that?! Raye stamped her foot peevishly, hands fisting on her hips. "Accept my challenge or apologize at once!"

"Fine, my lady," growled Jadeite. He had come to a decision. "I accept your challenge! But as the challenged I choose the weapons and the location."

That was his right by Code Duello. She gave a curt nod of agreement. "Unless you choose to publicly apologize, Lord Jadeite, state your terms."

"There will be no apologies, my lady," Jadeite murmured, advancing on her with a sudden predatory gleam in his eyes, "for I spoke no more than the truth. However, you wanted a duel and you shall have it. In my chambers, using the weapons with which the gods have endowed us both. And I don't mean magic."

"What?!" she sputtered, thoroughly startled when he yanked her close, scooping her up into his arms. She kicked out with her feet but found no purchase; he had her well and truly captive, and was so near she could feel his heart beating. "What the hell do you think you're doing, Jadeite?!"

"I believe you demanded satisfaction."

An alarmingly wicked smile flitted across his lips and her smoky violet eyes widened as he strode across the room and kicked open the door to his bedchamber. She knew that look well and her blood began to heat at his next words. "You shall have it, Princess. Of course I assure you, I too shall have mine."

Raye's last coherent thought as he caught her lips in a scorching kiss was, 'I guess can live with that.'


	7. Let Her Eat Cake

A very irate Sanjouin Masato stalked into the Crown Fruit Parlor looking like an escapee from a blood-soaked slasher film.

Letting out a massed cry of alarm, several people jumped up at once, running to his aid. They stopped, though, when they suddenly realized that the viscous crimson stuff which spattered him from head to toe wasn't blood…and he smelled, oddly enough, of cocoa.

"Jeeze! What the hell happened to you?" an astonished Mamoru asked, trailing a finger through one of the red stains on his friend's shirt. He sniffed at it experimentally, then stuck his finger in his mouth. "Mmm…chocolaty."

"Mako happened," Masato muttered, shedding his gory looking sport coat in a vain attempt to look a tad cleaner and less like a trauma victim. It, along with his expensive silk shirt and formerly ivory wool slacks, was a total loss. "She locked me out. I don't suppose I could spend the night at someone's place…"

It pained him to recall the scene. One minute he'd been trying to reason with her, not that it was easy when she was in one of her tempers (AND a floor away from him where he couldn't kiss her until she calmed down), and the next minute there'd been a pronounced squelching sound as the contents of bowlful of red velvet cake batter sailed over the balcony railing. He'd had no chance to take evasive action. The stuff caught him squarely on the crown of his head, spattering his clothing with bright red, permanently-staining goo and completely covering his formerly impeccable mahogany locks in a sticky coating which was drying as he spoke. The slam of the sliding glass door had then signaled his temperamental love's departure from the field of battle.

Usagi, Rei and Minako exchanged glances. "What did you do?" they asked as one.

Sheepishly he blurted it out, ducking his head. "Ikindofforgotherbirthday."

"You didn't?!" Two pairs of aquamarine eyes widened in horror. Another set of mulberry colored eyes narrowed in scorn.

"No cake?" squealed Usagi, looking pained. "No present? Not even a card?"

"I just forgot," he said sulkily, knowing he'd screwed up badly. On the scorecard of big gaffes it ranked somewhere between committing a major felony and cheating on her. He also knew he was whining unattractively, but he couldn't seem to help it. "Her birthday wasn't…I mean I meant to do something but…" He gave up trying to explain. "Anyway, she didn't have to get so mad. She wouldn't even let me explain."

"Men," Rei opined, looking disgusted, "are scum."

"Easy, hon. We're sitting right here, you know," Jinsei grumbled to his wife, glancing around the table at Mamoru and Koichi. They wore identical expressions of 'Thank gods it wasn't MY screw up.'

"Did she throw her engagement ring back at you too?" Minako inquired, twisting a paper straw wrapper around her finger and thinking of a special heart-shaped, emerald and diamond band.

"No," he choked out. "Just the cake batter."

Koichi's eye roll clearly indicated that he ought to be grateful she hadn't hurled the mixing bowl at him.

"Well then you're lucky," Minako chirped. "She hasn't given up on you entirely…yet. But you are going to have to wait for her to cool down some and then grovel big time, buddy." She took a sip of her soda, an unusually wise look on her face. Usagi too nodded sagely and they immediately began tossing back and forth ideas to get Masato back into Makoto's good graces.

"You'd better get cleaned up first and borrow something of Jinsei-kun's to wear," Rei said with a snort, digging into her purse for her spare house keys. "Because red definitely is not your color."

"Gee…thanks."

Fortunately the length of time it took for Makoto to fully calm down was about as long as it took the red food dye to wear off his skin. He'd resembled a boiled lobster for a while.

Nervously Masato shifted his in his chair as he heard a key turn in the lock. He wasn't at all sure about Minako's plan to smuggle him back into the apartment, even though she assured him that Makoto was definitely in a calmer frame of mind now. She still hadn't spoken to him at all since that night and had returned his letters unopened.

Quickly he reached for his lighter.

The warm glow of candles wreathing a handsome, pleading face was the sight that met Makoto as she stumbled in that night.

Her hand went to her lips on an indrawn breath. Before she could speak, he did, thrusting a badly hand-tied bouquet of lilies of the valley into her hands. His voice shook slightly as he said, "I am so sorry, Makoto. I know I screwed up and that there's no defense for my actions. But I hope you can forgive me and take me back, because I really do love you even if I am a complete baka sometimes."

Makoto was busy staring at the candle bedecked cake.

It was singularly ugly. Its layers were lopsided and the somewhat runny icing full of crumbs. Garish green maraschino cherries ringed the top. It was probably inedible due to the sheer volume of crunchy, multi-colored sprinkles and rock hard silver dragées on top. Clearly it had been created by someone who had no clue what they were doing.

It was the most beautiful cake Makoto had seen since the last one her mother had made for her.

"You made this for me?" she whispered, eyes shining suspiciously bright. She could still smell the chocolate scent of baking lingering in the air.

"Hai," he answered cautiously. "Happy belated birthday, Makoto. Make a wish?"

She shook her head, making his heart sink. She wasn't going to forgive him and in that case he didn't know what he'd do.

Without warning Makoto threw herself into his embrace, sighing with happiness when she felt his arms close around her, bringing her right where she most wanted to be.

"It already came true."

(Note: Written because I realized that I too hangs head in shame forgot Mako's birthday. Mea culpa. Gomen nasai, Mako-chan. Yes, Koichi is Kunzite and Jinsei is Jadeite.)


	8. Playing Games

"Why am I here again?" he asked, pinching the bridge of his nose and hoping against hope for a bit of sympathy.

The raucous squeals of the children were giving him a pounding headache and his beautiful hair, now daubed here and there with glitter, paste, and gods only knew what else, would probably never be the same.

Sympathy was not destined to be. He did get a loud, derisive snort from one of his brethren, however.

"You're here, Zoi," Jadeite snarled, wrestling a wriggling three-year old who was shrieking for a horsy ride, "because you decided to take Neph's sports car out for a joyride, a thing he still hasn't forgiven you for, by the way, and while driving it" –he snorted again– "you committed multiple moving violations for which you were sentenced to serve community service. We, on the other hand, are here because you volunteered us just so you could look good to a certain lady doctor."

Cringing, Zoisite noted periodic black looks from the dark haired, dark eyed man on the other side of the Tokyo-Azabu Children's Hospital playroom. He had been roped into a game of Ring Around The Rosie with a handful of young patients and had been glaring Zoisite's way every time they insisted on the need to 'all fall down' hard. The only thing presently saving Zoisite's hide was the intercession of Nephrite's girlfriend, whose natural maternal instincts and sweet smile were charming both the children and somewhat soothing the savage beast she dated. All Zoisite could say was, Terra bless Kino Makoto!

Kunzite, on the other hand was being swarmed by a mob of children who appeared to be using him as a sort of human climbing post, and not being helped at all by a laughing Minako, who was engrossed in some sort of complicated, slightly spastic, hand-clapping and chanting game with a slightly older female patient. Zoisite took another look and almost laughed himself. He'd never seen such a look on the normally stoic man's face before. In any lesser man he might have termed it…panic?

Glancing across the room Jadeite noticed Rei, who had just been smacked in the head by a flying building block, getting ready to blow. He decided to step in before a small, if rambunctious, child was possibly traumatized for life by the fiery priestess. Slinging the wriggling boy onto his shoulders, Jadeite abandoned Zoisite to the remaining small mob of kids who were demanding to be entertained so that they could forget their illnesses for a time.

"We wanna play a game! We wanna play a game! We wanna play a game!"

There were more shrieks.

"Duck, Duck, Goose!" 

Zoisite winced. Anything but more of that one! Wasn't it going to be the kids' naptime soon?

"Ewww! Red Light, Green Light!"

"I wanna play Kagome, Kagome!"

"No! Simon Says!"

"Let's play Jan Ken Pon!"

Zoisite stared at the squabbling children, nonplussed. Really, what did he know about children's games? In his time a child's game had been quintain practice, not Duck, Duck, bloody Goose! Plus, the mindless playground game had already wreaked havoc on his flowing locks.

The children turned as the door opened and shrieked joyfully at the sight of their favorite doctor entering the hospital playroom. One little mite in a polka dotted robe and slippers darted over and began tugging on Ami's white lab coat.

"Dr. Mizuno! Make him play Duck, Duck, Goose with us!"

"I think they want to play," Ami murmured softly, trying not to laugh at the pained look that spread across Zoisite's face at the prospect.

He forced a smile, trying to look happy and useful for Ami's sake. A pediatrician specialist in this life, she loved kids, and if he looked like he knew what to do with them it might work to thaw their somewhat chilly relationship.

Unlike the others, he still had not made much progress in wooing the shy woman, much to his intense frustration. She'd insisted on taking things very slowly and somehow always seemed to remain at arms length, both emotionally and physically. Also, she frequently called off dates claiming medical emergencies, which drove him up a wall. His inner caveman was starting to understand the appeal of tossing his woman over his shoulder and carrying her off. He'd never been a patient man, and it had been frustration over one such broken date that had driven him to risk life and limb and the general safety of the Tokyo populace by steal…er, borrowing Neph's car. Hence his current predicament.

Her slowly blooming smile, though, swept such thoughts out of his head and he flashed her his most charming grin. "Of course," he replied. "Anything to entertain the children. Duck, Duck, Goose it is. And I'll even be the Oni to start," he offered himself up magnanimously as the 'it' person, "but Dr. Mizuno has to play too."

"Hai," chorused most of the small ones. A few grumbled, but Zoisite fixed the children with an evil eye which soon had them straggling into a lopsided ring on the rainbow hued rug. Gracefully, Ami seated herself. To Zoisite's everlasting surprise, she seemed truly amused by the simple game and the antics of the children playing it.

She was amused by more than that, he soon realized. Casting another quick glance her way, Zoisite realized that she was smirking ever so slightly each time his hair was further mussed as the kids went round the ring. But as he locked eyes with her, she colored faintly and turned away.

'Oh, the little minx is going to pay for that!' he silently vowed.

The next time it was his turn as the Oni, he went around the ring, a wide smile on his handsome face. "Duck…Duck…Goose!"

A heavy hand landed on the Doctor's cropped blue waves.

Leaping to her feet, Ami gave chase, only to squeak in befuddlement as Zoisite, with an extra burst of speed came up behind HER, entirely bypassing his seat and giving her a cheerful pinch on the nether cheeks. Some things were worth ending up in the mush pot.

Blushing furiously, she shot him a narrow-eyed, 'We are not pleased' look.

"What?" he asked, giving her a thoroughly devilish smile and winking, putting any claims of innocence to shame. "It's gotta be called Duck, Duck GOOSE for a reason, right honey?"


	9. Dark Side Of The Moon

The torrent of foul beasts seemed to have no end.

Swiping a hand across her forehead, Jupiter brushed away the sweat which dotted her forehead and trickled down her face. She grimly retightened her grip on her sword hilt, which was slippery now with gore. Fear hung thick in the air.

It had been horrible. Without warning the attack had come, shattering the crystalline dome over the central ballroom. Screams and blood had followed as the noble crowd in the ballroom panicked, seeking someplace, anyplace that was safe.

There was none.

The Dark Kingdom's youma were there by the thousands, horrifying in their twisted features and in their bloodthirsty nature. They slaughtered brutally and without remorse all those who crossed their paths.

She'd had no choice, nor had any of the other planetary princesses. The High Senshi were the only ones who might stand against the brutes. Without hesitation, she'd grabbed her henshin wand, shouting her transformation to the sky. She had only two objectives: protect Princess Serenity and destroy as many of the monstrous creatures as she could before she died.

Skewering another youma, she gagged at the rank stench as its poisonous green blood poured forth. In the heat of battle she'd gotten separated from the other senshi. She saw no sign of them anywhere, but prayed they were well. Their faces, with one other, were foremost in her mind. "Be safe," she whispered, coughing as another cloud of noxious smoke and cinders choked her.

Screaming her lightning attack, her thoughts flitted to the other. Nephrite. Her love. Her lover. Her husband. They had been wed in secret the night before he had been called away to fight Beryl's evil forces. She hadn't seen him since. Indeed, it had been weeks since she had heard from him at all. She'd been fighting the secret terror in her heart all that time, unable to tell another soul.

Surging forward through the smoke, Jupiter carved up youma right and left, soaking the ground with gore. "Beryl, you traitorous bitch," she snarled. "If he dies, I swear I will kill you without mercy and dance on your grave!"

As if her thoughts of him had conjured him up, Jupiter was stunned to see a familiar face through the dark clouds and ash. Blood stained his sword and shield and his face was set in a grim mask, but he was unmistakably alive and well, and the most beautiful sight she could have hoped to see.

"Nephrite!" she cried out, pressing her hand to her breast. Beneath her fuku's bow she could feel the precious wedding ring he'd given her, hanging from a chain just over her pounding heart.

He viciously sliced through a beast that was in his way, battling his way toward her side. There, without warning, in the middle of the battlefield overflowing with gore, he grabbed her and bent her backward, kissing her with lusty, head-spinning passion.

She never saw coming the blow which hurled her into the dark night.

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It was so cold and dark. Her power was light, yet she had none, and if she didn't find the light she would die. Selene defend her, she didn't want to die alone in the darkness! She would fight!

When she finally forced her eyes open, banishing the darkness, Lita blinked, staring about her. She was someplace she'd never been before, alone in a dimly lit, sparsely furnished, windowless chamber of cold grey stone. Horrified, she tried to remember what had happened. The effort made a lance of pain shoot through her skull, but she persisted. She recalled only fragmentary bits and pieces. Fighting…blood… a battle…the senshi…Nephrite…

"By Zeus," she muttered, raising a hand to her throbbing head. She could feel a goose-egg there and fingered it gingerly as she surveyed her surroundings.

She lay on an enormous four-poster bed that appeared to be carved of heavy oak, hung about with hunter green curtains. Beneath her were rich bedclothes of the same dark hue. To her shock she realized she no longer wore her sailor fuku, but was clad in a heavy gown. Her henshin wand was nowhere to be found, Lita realized as she groped for it. She struggled to sit up and it all came back to her in a sickening rush. She had to find her princess and figure out what was going on. Someone had to protect Serenity!

Stumbling from the bed, she stared disbelieving at her reflection in the long mirror that hung from the chamber wall. Never in a millennium would she have chosen the slinky ebony silk. It clung to her every curve, the narrow skirt slit almost to her hip on one side, revealing a nearly indecent length of creamy thigh which had her blushing. It dipped low in front over her breasts revealing nearly all of her cleavage, though a thin wisp of black veiling connected the heart-shaped bodice to a tight silk band around her throat which was studded with emeralds. The long flowing sleeves were of the same filmy stuff and cuffed tightly at the wrists. Instead of carved pink roses, faceted teardrops of emerald and onyx dangled from her earlobes.

Even her hair scarcely seemed to be her own. Her sorrel curls had been pulled up into an intricate coiffure and banded with a diadem of obsidian roses and gold leaves. As she reached up to touch it, another gleam of gold made her realize, to her shock, that her wedding ring, which she had hidden so close to her heart, now boldly encircled the fourth finger of her left hand.

"What in the wor…"

Lita broke off, her hand going to her throat as the farthest door opened. She let out a relieved sigh a second later as she saw the face of her husband, flying to his side.

"Nephrite," she blurted out, seeking answers in his velvet brown eyes, "what's going on? I'm so confused. The Moon Kingdom was attacked so suddenly. Please tell me, where is Serenity-sama? We've got to do something!"

He pressed a hand to her lips, silencing the flood of words. "Ssssh… Don't worry, love. It's alright. Princess Serenity has been taken care of. And Endymion as well."

The tone of his voice sent chills up Lita's spine. For the first time she realized he was not wearing his white uniform of a protector of Elysian, but one of steely grey with cabochon epaulets and trim the color of black current wine. The uniform of the Dark Kingdom elite…

Her mouth dropped open in horror. "Dear Goddess Selene, Nephrite! What have you done?!" She bit her lip, nearly drawing blood.

"Never mention that accursed name again!" he roared suddenly, as a quick, savage cuff sent her sprawling to the floor.

Lita stared at him wide-eyed and numb. Her hand pressed against her red, stinging cheekbone, the gold band there winking tauntingly. In spite of the pain, she could scarcely believe it had happened. He had NEVER struck her before. Indeed, the man she'd married would have sooner cut off his own hand than raise it to her in anger.

The sudden fear in her liquid green eyes seemed momentarily to touch something in him. Nephrite knelt down, gently drawing her stiff, unyielding body into an embrace. "I am sorry, Lita, my darling, but to speak that name is tantamount to treason and the penalty would be execution."

His grip on her tightened to a point that was nearly painful. One of his hands tangled in her hair and he pressed his mouth against hers fiercely, demanding a response. Against her lips he murmured, "I can't lose you, pet. You're mine and mine alone. You have to understand that. Even Beryl knew I had to have you beside me. She arranged it so, and this is how it must be. Will _always_ be." He drew back, staring deeply into her eyes. She could see the love there in his gaze, but also obsession and a hint of…madness, perhaps, and she felt her soul turn to ice.

"Don't worry, Lita Love" he said in a voice that was anything but soothing. "Metallia's power will make everything clear to you."

The Jovian princess' strangled scream died in her throat as a stygian mist seemed to enshroud her, filling her mouth and lungs and ears, her every pore, with its swirling, choking bleakness. She clawed, fighting against the icy onslaught, but finally her world went black and she knew no more.

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"Rise now and serve me well."

"My honor to serve and obey, my queen," she murmured ritualistically.

The woman lifted her lips from Beryl's ring, rose from where she knelt before the throne, and bowed once before withdrawing.

From the shadowy depths of the throne room Nephrite smiled an unholy smile.

"Come, wife," he whispered, taking Lita's hand in his and brushing his lips against the back of her hand as she curled eagerly into his embrace. "Together we now have worlds to conquer, my love."


	10. Sundae Sighting

"So," Usagi mused, staring at the soft chiffon scarf in her friend's upswept hair, "does that mean you got the job, Mako-chan?" Usagi grinned from where she sat on Makoto's futon. "I've seen that new theme restaurant and I can't wait to go try it. It's supposed to be a replica of a real American 50's diner. Whatever that is."

"Well," the tall woman murmured a bit uneasily, twirling a stray lock of hair around one fingertip, "I didn't get THE job, but I got A job."

Rei frowned, her plum-colored eyes narrowing. "What in Ares' name does that mean?"

Makoto sighed, a hint of disappointment darkening her gaze. "I got there and they said they already had all the cooks they needed, more's the pity. But they had an opening for a waitress and since I needed the money, I said that was okay. So I don't get the experience to add to my resume…but at least I'll have money for my next semester's tuition. Asanuma-kun's even agreed to pick me up each night and drop me home since it's on his way."

Suddenly she grinned impishly, her green eyes dancing merrily. "And you should just see the uniform I'm supposed to wear." When Rei's eyes narrowed further, Makoto smirked, shaking her head. "Uh uh, Rei-chan. Mind out of the gutter. Think the polar opposite of our…other uniforms."

When Usagi only looked confused, Makoto plunged her hands into the closet, withdrawing a long, full circle skirt of grey wool with a crisp starchy crinoline. It was so long it would come to mid-calf, even on the tall woman. In her other hand was a fluffy sweater the color of pistachio ice cream, which was accented by with a girlish, peter-pan collar of scalloped white lace.

"Kawaii!" squealed Minako from the other side of the room, making Artemis wince and hang on for dear life to the blonde's shoulder as she dashed across the room, snatching the skirt from Makoto's hand and spinning around to make it fan out. "All it needs is the sequined poodle appliqué."

With a grin at the hapless feline, Makoto piped up, "Actually, I was thinking more in terms of a cat…"

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"This place is really noisy," Kunzite commented on the packed restaurant, shooting a dark look at the blaring jukebox. Its screaming, electric rainbow of colors made his eyes hurt and that was nothing compared to what was coming out of it. He wasn't sure if he liked this new, loud, confusing time. He was completely oblivious to the stares of the females in the room, whose eyes were unerringly drawn toward the booth seating the three very different but equally fabulous looking males.

"Right. This place is great," Zoisite unintentionally contradicted his leader even as he agreed with him, flipping open his menu. "We can talk right out in the open and nobody will hear or even notice. Hrm…Egg Cream. Sounds disgusting. I wonder what Wet Fries are. Or Purple Cows." He scratched his temple, then noticed the look Kunzite was giving him. "What? I read it right, but I just don't know what it means. And it doesn't say."

Jadeite scowled, shifting restlessly and tapping a spoon on the table top rudely. Inactivity didn't suit him well. "When's Neph going to get here? We're wasting time, you know. We ought to be out actively searching for Prince Endymion every minute. And the ladies too. I need to know if Raye is okay. I've got to apologize. I need to know if I've got a chance or if she's still furious with me."

"We've still got to eat, oh irascible one." Zoisite smirked, his green eyes twinkling with barely suppressed mischief as he tapped his toe to the music. Why, with Jadeite around, he was still considered to be the impatient one mystified him. "Honestly…even during the Silver Millennium, when wasn't Princess Mars furious with you? Your love theme ought to be the song that's playing right now. Great Balls of Fire."

The blue-eyed man seemed to puff up toad-like in sudden fury. Before Jadeite could punch out his fellow Shitennou though, Kunzite intervened, settling matters with a single curt word. "Enough."

Noticing the fourth for their party, he stood, waving an arm at the man who strolled through the door and shooting him a fierce inquisitive look.

Nephrite shook his head sadly as he slid into the booth, his darkly handsome addition to the group drawing still more looks of feminine approval in that direction. His friends' faces, though, fell. They'd pinned much of their hopes on him.

His next words were gently delivered, but their impact was brutal. "Sorry. I spent the last seventy-two hours at the observatory and got exactly nothing. It's very discouraging. The stars aren't telling me a thing about where to find Endymion-sama or Lita or any of your loves."

With a quick sulky look at Nephrite, Jadeite hid behind his menu until he could come up with something to say that wouldn't betray the disappointment he felt. He'd been counting on the seer to come through for them, damn it all!

"Hey-ya sweeties. What can I get you?" a soft voice chirped. The men glanced up, gazing bemusedly at their waitress, who sported loopy spit curls, some of the ugliest black and white shoes they'd ever seen, and a skirt that appeared to have some sort of bizarre looking canine design stitched onto the front of it. They exchanged looks of bewilderment. It truly was a strange, strange new world.

Zoisite opened his mouth to ask about the fries and cow, when the waitress suddenly turned away from them to wave across the restaurant at a departing co-worker. How she'd heard the call of her fellow employee over the thump of the music and the din of the other diners, Kunzite would never know.

"Bye! See you on late shift Monday, Mako-chan." Kimiko winked, smiling broadly. "And have fun this weekend with that cute boy friend of yours...just not too much fun."

"You're so bad, Kimiko-chan!" The familiar giggle of the departing waitress had Nephrite whirling, craning his neck to see over the back of the high booth.

"Boyfriend?" he growled in sudden outrage, staring at the waitress in the snug tea-green sweater who was clinging to a blushing young man's arm.

He abruptly lunged from the booth, startling the other Shitennou and their waitress, who stumbled back with a cry into a busboy who, in turn, dropped his tray of glassware. The noisy collision resulted in a wave of melted strawberry sundae being spattered all over poor Kimiko and Zoisite and turned every head in the place. Suddenly the only sound in the restaurant was the mellow sound of the Big Bopper as the record in the jukebox changed.

Nephrite, however, was practically oblivious to anything but the sassy bob of a curly auburn ponytail as it bounced out into the Tokyo night. Cramming a large, random wad of bills into the dumbstruck waitress' hand by means of an apology, he bolted out the door leaving the trio of men staring after him.

A furious Zoisite was scrubbing with a napkin at the sticky pink liquid matting down his long curls. "I swear, I'm gonna kill him! What the hell's gotten into Nephrite?!"

Their leader's cool grey eyes warmed faintly and he startled Jadeite, coming out with a full broad smile…Kunzite almost never smiled like that. Kunzite, however, had seen the same thing Nephrite had, so it was no wonder he was smiling, suddenly hopeful.

The voice on the jukebox relieved him of any need to answer, crooning, "Chantilly lace and a pretty face and a ponytail a hangin' down…"


	11. Light From Shadow

The rain drummed heavily on the roof, streaming off the eaves in a liquid curtain as thunder rumbled and lightning flashed. Perched on the window sill, Minako peered out at the drenched earth and grey skies, absently stroking Artemis. Without warning a single spark of static leapt from her fingertips, crackling across the cat's back and making him arch his back with a hiss.

He leapt to the floor, shooting Minako a disgusted look before he stalked away mumbling evilly under his breath.

"Gomen nasai, Artemis," she whispered, heaving a sigh as another loud thunderclap sounded, this time nearer, rattling the window.

"What's the matter, Minako?"

The deep voice, coming unexpectedly, made her jump. Turning, she gazed into a pair of slate grey eyes which had always been as fathomless and deep as the sea. He was lounging there in the shadows, looking deceptively relaxed as he leaned against the doorjamb. "What makes you think anything is wrong?" she asked brightly, flashing her trademark grin and V sign.

He simply shook his head. The sigh was as much of a sign of depression as she would ever allow herself to show. She'd always said that Venusians didn't mope or brood. But he knew better, as did she. Venusians merely hid it better than most.

"You don't have to pretend with me, Minako. You never did."

She bit her lip, lowering her lashes to hide her too-revealing gaze. He read her better, perhaps, than even Serenity. It had always been an unsettling thought. Maddeningly, he waited in perfect silence for her to answer. He wouldn't ask again, she knew, but he would wait. He would, damn him, wait until the end of the next ice age if that was what it took to pry the answer from her.

"I was just worrying about Serenity," she finally revealed, looking out the window. "She's probably terrified from the storm, likely hiding under the bed until it's over and Endymion can coax her out. Ami's likely just hoping it will turn to snow. Rei's undoubtedly sulking because the dampness affects her sacred flame. And yet, Mako-chan…she's probably out there reveling in it. She'll dance in the rain until Nephrite drags her back inside. And even then she'll splash in the puddles like a giddy child until he gets her under cover."

"And you?" he prodded, uncurling himself from the door frame.

She looked startled. "Me…I mean, I?"

He smiled faintly, with a gentleness that few souls would have believed him capable of. Evidently either her grammar lessons were paying off or her Silver Millennium memories were beginning to affect her as they had begun affecting the others.

"I…" Minako broke off, shaking her head. It was hard to explain.

"You know how you feel, but don't want to say it because you don't like seeing your friends at odds or being at odds with them," he rumbled, his baritone echoing the faint sounds of the storm. "You don't want to see anyone unhappy."

Striding silently across the room, he came to stand beside her, his dark eyes taking in the liquid landscape. Minako was right. He could just see in the courtyard beyond a flash of green that was the blissful Jovian, twirling like a pagan goddess in the elements.

Minako sighed again. "I hate it when you do that."

"What?"

"Read my mind."

He chuckled softly, stroking her honey blonde hair. "You always did love the sunlight."

Embarrassed, Minako buried her head against the broad plane of his chest.

"Storms come and they go. They're not going to stop loving one another over something as simple as this," he reminded her. "Or you. It's not a betrayal to any of them. You torture yourself needlessly."

She stiffened. "Perhaps."

"You'll never all be of one mind, you know, except perhaps in devotion to Serenity. But the bond endures anyway. It always has."

He saw too much. She flushed, pulling back to stick out her tongue at him childishly.

Perhaps she wasn't yet as affected as he had thought. Ruffling her hair like a girl, he laughed again, the sound rough and unpolished. He sat on the window sill, pulling her onto his lap. He bit the inside of his cheek when she wriggled to get comfortable, forcing himself, by dint of considerable willpower, to stay on track.

"I know what it's like, if you recall. It's the curse of being the leader."

Cerulean blue orbs widened, staring at him. "I don't know what you mean."

"Second guessing yourself because you can't always make everyone happy. It's not a popularity contest. They're different people and may always be of different minds. You can only do the best you can. But they will deal with it and respect you just the same. Just think about it, Minako. Take the sunshine you love. If I asked my men what they thought of it, they'd have as many different descriptions of it as they are in number."

When she only looked confused, he continued. "Zoisite would undoubtedly have a scientific answer for it. Probably some long-winded, technical comment about radiant solar heat or light energy and its scientific uses. Whereas, as it's from a star, Nephrite would more likely describe it as the quiet voice of his nearest but most cryptic celestial friend."

Minako puzzled over his words for a moment, then smiled slowly, brightening. "I think I understand what you mean. Jadeite would probably say something simple about it warming him, but only faintly, almost insignificantly, in comparison to the fires of Mars."

That drew a full smile from him, of the rare kind that never failed to take her breath away. "I suppose he would at that."

"They'd never all agree fully, but it they'd never let it drive them apart, because each in his own way would be right." She cocked her head to one side, letting the fall of her hair spill across his chest. "I never thought of it that way before."

"You would have eventually," he assured her.

"Wait a minute," she piped up, looking expectant. "You never gave your thoughts. What would you say of sunlight?" she asked, tucking a lock of his platinum hair behind one ear, her fingertips teasing the tender skin there before trailing down his neck.

"Simple," whispered Kunzite, taking both of Minako's small hands in one of his. The other he trailed through her hair, combing the shining golden strands with his fingers as he brushed his lips across hers.

"Sunlight is a gift…like love, Minako. It's hard to catch, beautiful and warm and precious, yet seemingly illusory at times. But there's nothing more necessary to bring lasting relief and life from darkness when the real storms, not the fleeting ones like today's, come. And if you can figure out how, the best thing of all is holding sunlight in your hands."


	12. Hello Again

It was sultry as hell.

That was the main thought that pounded through Nephrite's brain as he waited for the appearance of the trade minister. Well, that and the fact that his dress uniform was completely unsuitable for conditions. He was hot, sticky and quite uncomfortable. Damn planet.

It wasn't that the planet wasn't beautiful. From what he'd seen since his transport landed, the planet of Jupiter was stunning, even more verdant green than the Earth, a rarity in the solar system. But the abundance of plant life was supported by a ridiculous amount of rain which came in nightly electrical storms, so even when it wasn't particularly hot, it was definitely humid. Today it was both.

"Lord Nephrite."

He snapped to attention. A servant stood before him, looking uncomfortable. "I regret to inform you that the trade minister has been slightly delayed. He sends his apologies. However, he will be here soon. Please make yourself comfortable and please help yourself to the refreshments provided."

After waving a hand at the salver which held a small plate of toothsome-looking tidbits and a crystal goblet and small carafe of wine, the servant bowed and withdrew. Nephrite eyed the wine, smiling cynically. Getting the other side drunk was one way to sway negotiations in the Jovian's direction. It might be his first such trade mission, but Kunzite would deservedly have had his head if he'd fallen into such an elementary trap.

Ignoring the wine, he decided to stretch his legs a bit, wandering down the length of the hall. It was all windows on one side, most open to allow views of the stunning, wild gardens below. However the other side of the corridor was lined with portraits of past rulers of Jupiter, all with hair of vivid auburn or red and piercing eyes as green as the planet's forests. The Jovian royal line, it seemed, bred true.

He froze before a painting at the far end of the hall, eyes flitting over the polished brass tag which bore a ridiculously long inscription reading: Her Most Royal Highness Crown Princess Verity Lita Honora Callisto Veridiana of the House of Io, fairest flower of Jove.

This was not a portrait of a past ruler, but of a future one, he thought. And worse luck, he'd met her before. For what he saw was a portrait of a small verdigris-eyed girl child, cradling a bouquet of sugar pink poppies in one arm and a scepter in the other, innocent and demure-looking in lace and ruffles.

A slight snort escaped him, causing a guard in the room to shift and eye him with suspicion, so Nephrite fell silent. He couldn't blame the man, as there had recently been rumors of attempts on the royal family by anti-royalist dissidents. Though the princess he'd known probably could have held her own against them. Innocent though she appeared, appearances had been highly deceiving. When he'd last seen her she'd smacked him, burned up his training sword and blacked his eye. She'd been a tiny hellion in pink.

He winced remembering the acid tones of his king's scathing rebuke. The childish squabble caused by his youthful chauvinism had reportedly very nearly resulted in an interplanetary incident. And stern Kunzite had not been amused. Though, he ruefully recalled, Endymion and Zoisite had found it uproarious.

Thank goodness he wouldn't have to deal with her on this trip. High royalty was never involved in such trifles as trade. The strained relations between their planets resulting from that faux pas eleven years past remained to this very day, which was one of the reasons he'd been dispatched to restore them as soon as he'd reached the age of majority. He'd argued that such was a diplomat's job, but as Kunzite had coldly pointed out, it was his duty to repair what he had broken, especially if Earth was to eventually join the Silver Millennium Alliance. In another two years Jadeite would be sent on a very similar trip to Mars.

He stepped to one side and watched curiously as a pair of servants came in, toting a huge, canvas wrapped object. When they stopped before the princess' portrait, which they took down, he was downright intrigued. Evidently a new painting had been done of the princess. She'd be sixteen now, he mused, idly wondering how she'd changed.

Before he got a chance to see the new portrait unveiled, however, the trade minister, a fat, fussy man in clothes as ill-suited to the climate as his own, arrived, spewing apologies as formal and ceremonial as his garments as he ushered the Terran lord into his office. Nephrite hid a grin. Let the games begin.

It was several hours into negotiations, which he thought had been going well, when the scream, shrill and loud and long, ripped through that whole wing of the palace, raking nerves and turning blood to ice.

"The princess!" yelped the trade minister, leaping to his feet with a speed that was impressive given his pudgy body.

He was not the only one springing into action. Nephrite, in a nearly instinctive move, had whipped out his sword and thundered into the hallway with the palace guards. His temper flared at the idea of any woman, even the little hoyden, being hurt simply because of the circumstances of her noble birth. He could almost hear Jadeite's scornful whisper again accusing him of possessing a ridiculously overly-chivalrous nature. Kunzite's voice butted in to remind him that if he could save the heiress to the Jovian throne, the Earth would be in an excellent position for negotiations. The only downside was possible death, but that had never stopped him before.

The continued screams allowed even a man unfamiliar with the palace to home in on the source. He rushed into the princess' chamber just steps ahead of the Jovian guards, his broadsword drawn. The lightning fast reflexes that had been drummed into him by his sword master over the years were all that kept his head from being severed from his neck just then. The clang of metal against metal reverberated up his arm as he stared around the flower filled suite.

Two, men garbed entirely in black, lay on the floor. The first was out cold, sporting a lump the size of goose's egg which was rapidly purpling on his forehead. The second lay still and face down amongst a clump of potted ferns, his body cooling, his life's blood having been inconsiderately spilt onto the fine carpet.

The other occupants of the room were ladies. The first, an expensively dressed redhead, was alternately sobbing and shrieking at the top of her lungs and twisting her velvet skirts in her hands. The second was a servant girl, who knelt on the floor and wept silently into her apron. And the third, not dressed at all but barely covered in a damp towel and still dripping, was presently clutching said towel around her ripe form with one hand and holding a saber to his throat with the other. She was silent as the tomb, her jade eyes glinting dangerously and her cheeks flushed a heated pink.

Nephrite felt his mouth go suddenly dry with a fear which had nothing to do with getting skewered. Incongruously, given the situation, he wanted nothing at the moment more than to yank loose the pins which held the girl-woman's damp hair up in an untidy knot on her head and run his hands through the silken red-brown curls…for a start. Unhealthy as he knew it would be, he could actually feel his fingers flexing to do just that. Wisely he decided not to make a single aggressive move, dropping his sword and holding up his hands in an unmistakable gesture of peace.

But for the first time he really understood what possessed the mythic hunters of old to risk life, limb and humanity itself to gaze on a goddess bathing.

There was a moan from the floor where the man with the goose-egg lay. As the guards pounced on the would-be assassin, dragging him off to his fate, Nephrite felt a hint of a slight smile creep across his face. The long crack in the heavy, rock crystal decanter on the rug and the scattering of bath salts on the floor told the whole story.

"Oh do be still, milady, won't you?" snapped the single remaining guard to the shrieking lady, shocking Nephrite. The woman sniffled, but did cease the ear-splitting wail, dabbing at her tears with a soggy handkerchief.

"Thank you, Captain," murmured the Amazon, sounding amused. Her rich, throaty voice stimulated Nephrite's imagination along with his every ductless gland and, he imagined, those of the guard. He swallowed hard, realizing that thought unaccountably vexed him.

He was more shocked when the captain of the guard bowed deeply before the toweling-clad vision. "Are you hurt, my princess?" the man begged, keeping his eyes firmly averted from the display of ivory flesh before him, a feat which Nephrite admired since he couldn't have done it.

Wait a minute! Princess?!?

A scorching blush rose on Nephrite's cheeks as indigo eyes again locked with stormy green. The beguiling, yet dangerous, green-eyed nymph was very the same pig-tailed vixen of a princess who had once blacked his eye and disgraced him before the whole Terran court. And that meant, dammit, that even had she not been too young as he knew her to be, she was still as far out of reach as the Moon was from the Earth, even though she was so tantalizingly close that he could see the individual beads of moisture pearling on her white shoulders.

Cronos' balls!

Evidently not, now that danger was past, overly concerned with her state of undress, Princess Lita looked down the blade of her sword at the man before her, her attention only wavering when the guard captain again plead with her. Assuring him she was well, she then returned her attention toward the brunette man, her eyes flickering over him searchingly. There was something about him…

After an eternal moment the saber was lowered from his throat, allowing him to draw a deep breath. The princess turned away and shrugged into a light caftan her shaken maid pressed on her. Once again covered, she allowed the towel to then pool at her feet, as she tightened a jeweled belt around her slender waist. Turning back to him then, she arched a graceful auburn brow and cocked her head to one side in a too-familiar inquisitive motion that made Nephrite groan low in his throat. If she placed him before he could explain, he was a dead man…he'd already had a slight glimpse of heaven.

He cleared his throat to speak, but the princess got there first. "Pardon me," she said in dulcet tones that would have been suitable to any formal ballroom, "but you seem very familiar to me. Have we, perchance, met?"

A faint, rueful smile twisted his lips. The stakes had just been raised alarmingly and now the real games had begun…winner take all.

(Note: If Lita seems strangely unconcerned about being nearly naked in front of a perfect stranger, please know that royalty in the past had shockingly little privacy at most times. Courtiers, servants, etc. were everywhere. 2nd Note: I'm setting the male age of majority at 21. The women's is 18.)


	13. Hunting Rabbits

"Ow! She would choose to pull this stunt after Minya and Amity went home and when Raye's needed at vespers," groused the young woman, painfully picking herself out of the prickly blackberry bramble into which she'd accidentally landed. "Little brat. And on a new moon night too. At eighteen she should be beyond such games."

She ought to have been grateful to only land in the bramble, though, since trying to transport without Amy's expertise at coordinates was a dicey proposition at best. A full-body shudder went through her as she realized that she could as easily have ended up in a cesspit instead of a garden.

"Ser," she hissed low. "Serenity…are you there? Ser? Honestly, I don't know what possessed her. I swear, when I get my hands on her..."

Her muttered tirade startled an owl, who, in turn, startled the young woman by hooting eerily in the darkness.

Clapping a hand over her mouth, she stifled the scream that rose in her throat. "It's okay…it's okay. It was just a bird. Like Raye's…only…not."

Steeling herself, Lita crept through the still gardens, softly calling. Unfortunately the place was enormous and very, very dark. There was no end to the places the wayward princess could wind up. Pulling out yet another blackberry thorn, Lita sucked the dot of blood from her thumb, laving the small wound with her tongue. She was, unfortunately, the perfect example of that.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here, creeping about and up to no good?" A mocking male voice came at her from the darkness.

The oath that she silently mouthed just then would have had Luna washing her mouth out with soap had Luna been there to witness it. Of course, had Luna been there, SHE wouldn't have been in such a fix. Lita immediately decided that, at that precise moment, discretion was definitely the better part of valor. She dared not be caught breaking the restrictions on Lunar-Terran travel.

Picking up her skirts in both hands, she fled.

"Shit!" she heard the voice cry. "He's getting away! Damn but he's fast!"

Aha! So the man, whoever he was, hadn't gotten any better a look at her than she had him. So much the better!

The dim light of the new moon was a mixed blessing. For while it hid her, it also made it hard to see where she was fleeing to. Lita stumbled through the dark gardens with the man in hot pursuit. She could hear his feet pounding close behind her…and getting closer. Of all the times to have left her short sword behind. She had to do something…fast.

Skidding around a large piece of statuary, she darted off in a new direction, cutting across the lawn. It was risky, as there were fewer places to hide, but if she could put some distance between herself and her pursuer, it might just be worth it.

Lita decided it definitely was NOT worth it when a heavy body slammed into hers from behind, knocking her roughly to the ground and pinning her there. He weighed a ton, or at least it seemed that way. As she gasped for breath, she found herself summarily rolled, pinned, and bodily searched with a definite lack of delicacy.

"OW!" The crack of her hand meeting his face was loud in the dark night, as was the male yell.

"Pervert," she hissed, shaking her now stinging palm. Searching for weapons was one thing, but when his hand landed on her bosom and stopped and stayed there, that bumped it up into unacceptable groping.

"Damn," called the man loudly, amazement clear in his tone. "It's not a kid. It's a woman."

Lita bit her tongue for the longest moment so that she would NOT call her captor another of the names on Luna's most-banned list. Her tone was fierce, though, as she spoke. "Yes. So would you mind getting OFF already?"

"Not so fast," said another male voice, filled with disapproval. "What exactly do you think you're doing on the castle grounds, miss? Looking for something to steal?"

"Hunting for a rabbit," Lita shot back, tongue firmly in cheek.

"Well, in addition to trespassing and breaking and entering, you do know there are laws against poaching in the royal gardens and forests, do you not?" It was that stern second voice again.

Actually, she didn't. In fact, Lita had never heard of such a thing. All loyal Jovians were welcome on Io castle grounds, so this was a first. Also, she was indignant at the breaking comment, because the only thing that she had done was possibly having slightly crushed a blackberry bush. And it fought back just fine all on its own, as her scratched hands could attest. A response was definitely called for, though, so Lita mumbled something unintelligible.

"I didn't understand that," muttered the first man. "We'd better take her in. Can hardly see my hand in front of my face out here." Lita groaned. Perhaps he'd have understood her better if he'd gotten OFF of her and let her draw a decent breath.

"Do we know where En is?" the first man asked after a moment's thought.

"Kunz and Zoi are looking right now. He disappeared again."

Lita's head spun. Coons and Soy? Whoever her captors were, they didn't sound like they were speaking Terran Standard. She was suddenly regretting having taken the extra elective classes in botany instead of Interplanetary Languages. Amy had warned her that would happen.

The feel of cold metal locking her wrists together made her gasp. "Well I never!"

"That's right," chuckled her captor, finally shifting his weight off of her. "And we're here to make sure you don't." Yanking her to her feet, she found herself quick-step marched toward the distant lights of the castle. When she began protesting vigorously she wound up not only bound, but gagged and carted off over the man's shoulder.

Compared to the darkness outside, the bright lights within the castle were blinding when she was first brought in and plunked unceremoniously down on a chair. Lita blinked owlishly as she heard the first man say, "Well, let's get a look at you, sweetheart. Hello now…aren't you a beauty, Green Eyes? Pity to have to lock such a sweet ripe thing away in the dungeons."

Damnable Terran pervert, Lita thought with gusto.

Squinting her eyes, she managed a glimpse of honey blond hair and very blue eyes that reminded her a bit of Minya. Those eyes were sweeping her from head to toe and, when she noted that they paused far longer than necessary at her chest, she began to curse in fluent Jovian, switching to Martian when she needed more ammunition, though of course it merely came out as gabble since she was gagged.

The sound of rich laughter coming from the doorway had both she and the blond man turning. Lita's eyes widened in shocked recognition and she moaned. It would be just her luck to be in such a humiliating spot before the handsomest man she'd ever had the misfortune to meet before.

"Do you know what you've got there, Jadeite?" said the newcomer, sauntering in and kicking the door shut behind him. He gently tipped up Lita's chin for a good long look, then trailed a finger lightly down her cheek in a caress that had her catching her breath. "You've caught yourself one honest to goodness, authentic Jovian Royal Vixen."

That crack made Lita snarl behind the cloth in her mouth. Had she been free, she probably would have bitten the man, handsome or not, with as much force as the fox he'd compared her to. His amused, "Better let her loose so we don't have another 'Incident'," mollified her not at all. She kicked both Jadeite and Nephrite in the shins as hard as her satin slippers would allow. Sadly, the effect was much muted by their boots, serving only to bruise her toes.

"What?" asked the blond, looking completely confused. He was definitely reminding her of Minya now.

"She's a princess. The crown princess. From Jupiter. What brings a lady like you here on a night like tonight, I wonder?" mused the infuriating man, looking out the window searchingly toward the star-filled night and making no move to free her.

His words, however, had a profound effect on his friend. Her gag was IMMEDIATELY removed, as were the shackles, and then the blond man skittered away from her so fast he practically left a vapor trail.

"About time," she sniffed, rubbing at her chafed wrists and straightened her disheveled skirts. "This is an outrage!"

"Oh shit," Jadeite yelped, sounding slightly panicked. "I assaulted a planetary princess. Again. Kunz is going to have my ass in a sling for the rest of my life over this one. And the king…Oh Gaia!

As he turned back from the window, a hint of amusement danced in Nephrite's midnight blue eyes and he stifled a chuckle. He seemed quite satisfied for a reason Lita could not seem to fathom.

"Well, you could say it was turnabout. I mean, her little friend did the same to you when you were eight. Or you can blame it on me. After all, Princess Lita DID hit me back when."

Stunned recognition registered in Jadeite's face and he groaned, running his finger along the not quite straight plane of his nose which was a legacy from their memorable first encounter. "Oh perfect. She probably brought her violent Martian friend along too."

"I didn't," sniffed Lita indignantly, shooting him a narrow-eyed look of disapproval. "Princess Divinity Raye is undoubtedly right in the middle of conducting vespers as we speak…and being a perfect lady too. Too bad we can't say the same about some others and gentlemanly behavior." Her tone was acid.

"Look, I'm sorry, Princess," Jadeite said hastily, trying to mollify the irate royal. "You have no idea. In the dark I thought you were a bandit or an assassin. I was just trying to neutralize a threat to Endymion. I swear I never meant to…"

Whatever it was he was going to swear to, Lita was never destined to know. For just then the door on the far side of the chamber opened, and a parade of people streamed in. First there was a tall man dressed in black with half armor, who was being hauled in by a still taller caped man with hair nearly the same shade of silver as Serenity's. She knew this for a certainty, because immediately following them WAS Serenity, being ushered gently but firmly in by a third man with long strawberry-blond hair worn in a queue and cunning green eyes.

The party of four froze as they caught sight of Lita, Nephrite and Jadeite.

"Omigosh…Lita!" squealed Serenity, her voice betraying both delight AND embarrassment.

"Lita?" inquired the strawberry-blond man politely.

"Lita," agreed Jadeite, looking sick to his stomach.

"Serenity!" snarled Lita, immediately leaping to her feet, her urge to throttle the Moon Princess coming forth full force AND showing clearly on her face. After, of course, she killed the man who had dared to manhandle the heir to the Lunarian throne.

"Endymion!" hollered the silver-haired man in alarm, shoving the Prince of Earth out of the way and drawing his sword, least Lita prove some kind of a threat.

"Kunzite!" The prince made a warning noise in his throat and a violent hands-off gesture. The silver-haired man stopped, but he did not look one bit happy about it.

"Zoisite?" asked the Moon Princess sweetly, hinting without really saying so that now would be a good time for him to let go of her. He had been a true gentleman and she would hate to see one of her guardians do something drastic.

Nephrite started to laugh until his sides hurt, drawing looks in varying degrees of bemusement or disgruntlement from every other person in the room, but he didn't care. It was so ridiculous he laughed until the tears were rolling down his cheeks. He simply couldn't stop.

That, of course, got Serenity going. She began to giggle like a schoolgirl. After a moment, Endymion joined in, his rich baritone filling the small room. Zoisite too joined in, struck by the absurdity in the situation and by the fact that he recognized by name, if not by sight, the princess of Jupiter and judged her as meaning no harm. It was contagious and Lita finally gave in, snickering behind her hand.

Only Kunzite and Jadeite failed to join in, Kunzite looking quite displeased by the fit of hilarity that seemed to have overtaken everyone, and Jadeite looking afraid that Kunzite was going to bite him. Of course a moment later it was all moot.

Crickets did not even dare to chirp as the main door to the chamber flew open, slamming hard against the wall. Jadeite, in a moment of shocked yet reluctantly fascinated interest and recognition, paled. Serenity and Lita exchanged horrified looks, gasping as one as they spotted, framed in the doorway, the furious raven-haired spitfire who looked like an avenging angel brandishing a razor-sharp saber, a golden shield and the trademark ferocious glare that had terrorized suitors from around the galaxy.

"RAYE!"


	14. Scarlet And Silver

Days didn't get much better for three year old Aino Minako than they had that particular Saturday. The sun was shining brightly, Daddy was home, and they were going to the park for the afternoon…and she got to wear her spiffy new poppy red sundress, the best dress ever with its fluffy, twirly skirt. On the way Daddy'd bought her a new coloring book and a big fancy box of what looked like a zillion (well, 64, anyway) pretty new crayons that were the colors of all the summer flowers. And Daddy had even promised her a strawberry ice cream bar.

Yep. It was officially the best day ever.

The little girl waited on the park bench for her father to return with the frozen treat, scribbling away merrily in her coloring book. There were red birds and red flowers to be colored and lots and lots of ruby-red hearts added in wherever. After all, one of Minako's favorite colors was red, as evidenced by the perky, albeit slightly lopsided, crimson bow that she always wore in her hair no matter what other color clothes she might be dressed in. The sun-kissed yellow she liked just as well, she always wore as it had been bestowed as a gift from nature in the gorgeous blonde of her hair.

So engrossed was she, she never noticed the approach of a pair of older boys. They, however, definitely saw her. The scarlet ribbon in her hair was like a beacon.

"Hey," a rather weasley looking boy named Hisashi said, elbowing his friend Yori none too gently in the ribs. "Look at the little pre-school baby there. Doncha think it's kinda a waste she's got all those nice crayons? She'll prob'ly just break'em up."

Yori, who was not a malicious boy, but an easily swayed one, nodded in agreement, rubbing his lightly bruised ribs. "Prob'ly. So what?"

"I want 'em. I'm gonna take 'em."

Yori's mouth fell open. "B…but that's stealing."

"Yeah. I know." He smirked faintly. He could almost smell the waxy scent now. Catching sight of his friend's shocked expression, Hisashi realized he'd have to have a story and it would have to be good.

"Look, I don't ever get nothing that nice because my folks can't afford 'em. Look at her. Her dad's over in the ice-cream line right now just for her. He'll just buy her some new ones when she fusses an' that'll be that." His smile at Yori was faintly menacing. "You DO think I oughta get somethin' nice now an' then, don't ya? Don't ya?"

"We…ell."

"Right. So all we gotta do is you go up and take the crayon she's holdin' an' I'll grab the big box. Then we run to the other side of the park. That shrimp'll never catch us."

"But I don't think…" Yori tried again, only to trail off as the larger and bigger Hisashi scowled at him blackly. "Never mind."

With a final glance over toward the long line for the ice-cream vendor, Hisashi smiled. "NOW!"

As he watched, Yori jogged across the grass toward the picnic bench. Once he was halfway there, Hisashi bolted after him.

Minako let out a yelp as her prized red crayon was suddenly jerked out of her hand. "Hey!" she protested. "That's mine!"

The red-faced boy simply ducked his head, refusing to meet her gaze and sprinted off as fast as his sneakers could carry him. As Minako spun around to give chase, she vaguely became aware of movement behind her. As she turned her head, she was shocked to see another nasty looking boy, larger and meaner-looking than the first, grabbing not just a single crayon, but the whole 64-box and running off with them.

The tiny blond girl let out a wail as tears filled her cornflower blue eyes.

A pair of silvery-grey eyes watching the scene narrowed.

"Hey, you two." The voice was not loud, but very firm and compelling.

Yori skidded to a halt, dragging Hisashi with him. "Who…us?"

The boy, older than they by a year or two, had a bat on his shoulder and a look of immense authority, despite his young years. Before either of the two younger boys knew what happened he was before them, eyeing them with scorn.

"That's a pretty nice set of crayons," mused the boy, studying the yellow and green box. Then one of his eyebrows shot upward and he pinned both boys with a look. "Don't you think it's time you returned it to the little girl you stole it from? And the red crayon too?"

Yori's neck went red as did his cheeks. These were clearly not really questions…more like understood orders. "Um…hai."

Stubbornly Hisashi was ready to refuse, when Koichi turned his cool laser gaze on him. Suddenly, without the older lad having said another word, Hisashi felt lower than a slug's belly.

Koichi smiled coolly, though no warmth reached his eyes. "Then let's go give her back her things and tell her how sorry you are."

Both younger boys nodded. "Hai…sempai."

It was a much more subdued pair who re-approached Minako. She glared at them, clutching her coloring book to her chest. "You can't have this one too!"

"Gomen nasai," whispered Yori, setting the red crayon down on the table top. "I was very wrong to take it."

The little blonde girl looked like she was about to fall off the bench in shock, but she snatched up the precious crayon and held it close. She tipped up her head to take a good long look at the remaining two boys and caught her breath as silver flashed before her eyes.

"Don't you have something to say?" prodded Koichi, placing a heavy hand on Hisashi's shoulder.

The smaller boy gulped. "Gomen nasai, kid. I was…" –he chanced another quick look at the implacable face above his– "wrong. I won't ever do it again." Quickly he stuffed the box of crayons in Minako's arms. She flashed Koichi, her hero, a brilliant smile which dimmed slowly as she took in the sober, too-old-for-his-years look in his eyes. Suddenly she felt as much sorry for him as grateful to him.

He almost, but not quite, smiled back for just a second. The little girl's honey sweet smile was infectious before it faded. But he turned back to Yori and Hisashi as he had a job to do. "You sure won't do it again," he informed the pair. "And if I hear of you bullying any more little kids…"

He left the threat unfinished, hanging ominously in the air.

Yori couldn't take it anymore. He bolted. A second later Hisashi followed suit as they sought to put as much distance as possible between themselves and the eerily soft-spoken but intense Koichi.

As if re-shouldering a burden, Koichi shifted his bat from one side to the other, nodded to Minako and began to walk away.

"Wait!" she cried out.

When he paused, she tore off a page from her book. It was all hearts, except for a large rose, all done in red and colored her best. Scarcely any of it was outside of the lines. Minako had been going to give it to her father, but she wanted to give something back to the somewhat sad-looking boy in whatever small way she could.

Koichi, with one silver brow lifted in confusion, waited with infinite patience as the plucky little girl wrapped his fingers around the piece of paper. When he looked at it though, he suddenly seemed faintly dazed. Something about the rose and hearts sparked a feeling of complete happiness that was unfamiliar, yet something he knew he craved. Smiling absently, caught up in his thoughts, he gave the lopsided scarlet ribbon in Minako's hair a gentle straightening twist and walked off, studying his prize and wondering at its secrets.

Minako stared after the boy, hearts dancing in both her eyes as she felt the first strains of her very first crush. Only after he disappeared behind a stand of trees, did she turn around, carefully replacing the much-loved red crayon in its spot.

Slowly perusing the colors in her box, Minako finally found the two she was looking for and smiled. Gleefully she began outlining every one of her red hearts with an outline of silver and another of gold. They were beautiful.

"Sorry this took so long, Princess, but the line was really long," her father said as he dropped down onto the bench beside her and held out the sweet strawberry ice-cream pop, which she accepted with a squeal of delight. Showing surprising grace, she managed to continue to draw while never once letting a single drip of the creamy treat fall.

Her father smiled vaguely. "What's that honeybunch?" he asked, leaning in to look at the crayon drawing she was filling in with gold and silver. "Did you get tired of red?"

"Uh uh," Minako said happily, with a secret, albeit slightly sticky, smile. "But some day," she said, waving the silver crayon in the air, "I'm gonna find a boy with eyes an' hair this color…an' I'm gonna marry him."


	15. Good Fortune?

_The past has come full circle. Love will find you soon._

Hino Rei scowled at the little slip of paper that had been secreted away in her cookie. "Aren't these supposed to say things like I'll change the oil in my car every five thousand miles or something?"

It was the night of the weekly Saturday meeting of the Inner Senshi, which was always an event not to be missed since Makoto always catered. Tonight they'd supped on a delicious dinner of Chinese walnut shrimp, garlic eggplant, braised tofu, fresh crisp green beans with almonds, hot and sour soup, and, of course, rice. Now they were clustered around her low table, relishing the warmth of the kotatsu heater while they drank their tea and munched on the cookies she'd provided. They weren't really Chinese, she'd told them, but a fun little invention from America.

"You don't even have a car, Rei-chan. But If you don't want your fortune, I'll have it," Minako said with a smile. "A little love sounds good to me."

"You can have it," sniffed the priestess, nibbling her cookie experimentally.

Minako merely grinned. "Well before I decide, I'll open mine. Then I can take the better one." She cracked open the fortune cookie and plucked out the little strip of paper, scanning it and frowning.

"Well?" Makoto inquired, pouring herself another cup of tea.

"Can I have another one, Mako-chan? Please? Mine said the same thing as Rei-chan's."

"But I thought you said that sounded good to you," Rei reminded Minako, slyly. Her purple-violet eyes were full now of good humor.

"Well that was before. I want my OWN fortune." Without waiting for Makoto to agree, the blonde grabbed another cookie.

Ami grinned, lifting her cookie. "Hope mine says I've aced that half-term anatomy exam. It was tough."

"Ami-chan," Minako laughed, shaking her head. "Only you would waste a perfectly good fortune on something like that. Let's do ours together on three. One…two…three!"

Smiling good naturedly, the petite bluenette ignored her friend's gentle ribbing and snapped into her sweet. "Oh my."

Her slightly bemused expression after reading the fortune made the others curious. Minako snagged the paper, reading it, and held up her second fortune. It was the same as Ami's and all those that had gone before.

Glancing at Makoto she seemed heartily amused. "I think your fortune cookies are stuck in a groove Mako-chan."

That drew a frown from the taller girl, who was now tugging agitatedly on the tip of her ponytail. "Well for heaven's sake…how weird. I know I asked for a bag that was marked Assorted. They must've given me the wrong bag. I was at this funky little tea shop downtown and the proprietor didn't really speak much Japanese.

She sighed. "I'm disappointed, girls. I thought this would be more fun. What's fun about having all the same fortune?"

"Well open yours anyhow," Rei told her, munching on her sweet. "Fortunes or no, they taste good anyway. They've even got a hint of cinnamon. With the tea it's fabulous."

"Alright," Makoto murmured, though a hint of displeasure was still evident on her face. As she expected, her fortune matched the others word for word.

"Maybe it means you'll be getting back with sempai," Minako teased, a cheeky grin on her face.

"Oh please," Makoto snapped. "I am so over him, Goldilocks."

"If I could," she grumbled heatedly, "I'd take the rest back and get my money returned. But not long after I bought those I tried to go back and buy some more of their Lap Seng tea…it was some of the best I'd ever had…and the place was gone. Must've been one of those here today, gone tomorrow, flashes in the pan."

"Don't worry about it," Ami reassured her, patting her disgruntled friend on the arm. "The dinner was fabulous."

"Amen," Minako agreed, flopping onto her back and patting her full belly contentedly. "If these meetings were any more often, my agent would drop me and I'd have to be rolled around.

Rei leaned around the end of the table and poked her friend in the stomach, making Minako squeal and curl up like a pillbug. "Well, Ami always said you should be a more well-rounded individual," she said, winking outrageously at the blonde, who vowed her vengeance as Makoto and Ami laughed, the former's good mood beginning to be restored.

The chiming of the doorbell had Makoto scrambling to her feet. "That must be Usagi-chan. It's a good thing I kept back a plate for her, otherwise she'd have starved, coming late." Makoto opened the door as she concluded, "You guys ate everything."

The young women waited for it.

Usagi's plaintive wail did not disappoint. "You didn't save any for me?! You knew I would be late because this was the only time Mamo-chan and mama and I could get together to go see the florist about the bouquets."

Rei and Minako laughed out loud and even Ami had a rather teasing smile hovering around her lips.

"Usagi-chan," Makoto piped up, her evergreen eyes twinkling with merriment, "would I ever do you wrong? I knew you'd be late because of the wedding planning. I've got a plate for you keeping warm in the oven. It'll just take me a minute to get it. You sit and have some tea. You can even have a cookie or four with the others. I've got plenty."

Always ready and willing to start a meal with dessert, Usagi grinned. "Sounds good."

As Makoto disappeared into her tiny kitchen, the future queen pulled up a heavy cushion and plunked herself down by the heater. Ami was pouring her a warm cup of tea.

"Oooh…that's nice. It's cold out."

The pigtailed blond snagged the nearest cookie and bit into it directly.

"USAGI," Rei protested. "Be careful. You'll eat your fortune if you're not careful. And while I know you eat most anything, I didn't think paper was high on your list of favorite foods."

"Fortune?" Usagi mumbled indistinctly around a mouthful of cookie. Rei sighed wearily, dropping her head to the tabletop and banging her head lightly but repeatedly against it, rattling china.

Luckily, Usagi had not managed to consume her fortune as it was wedged tightly in the far end of the treat. Eagerly she unrolled the tiny, now slightly damp, scroll and read its contents aloud, struggling once with an unfamiliar kana.

_You shall wed true love soon. Bridesmaids hate fuchsia taffeta._

Each of the inner planetary senshi, including Makoto, who had just stepped back into the room with Usagi's steaming plate in hand, blinked owlishly and felt an eerie, unfamiliar shiver run up their spines. They didn't have much of a chance to think about it, though, as Usagi scowled at them, her cerulean blue eyes filling with hot tears.

"What?! You all hate my bridesmaid dress choice? You're so meeeean!"

As four flustered young women hastened to assure their princess that of course fuchsia taffeta or pumpkin lace or teal satin or just anything at all would be fine…nay perfect, three men of varying shades of blond, from golden to strawberry to outright platinum were walking into a cramped, hole-in-the-wall of a tea shop that had recently opened near their apartment.

The wizened old Chinese proprietor, in traditional robes embroidered heavily with strange and arcane symbols, smiled at the men…or at least his wrinkles split enough that was how it appeared.

"Come in," he said in heavily accented Japanese. "Welcome to Lucky Fortune. Please try signature cookie." The grin on the old man's face widened as he proffered a tray filled to overflowing. "Make wish, then open with friends. Find heart's desire."

The three men looked bemused, but shrugged and accepted the small, pre-wrapped treats, stuffing them in the pockets of their overcoats as they browsed the odd little store, which seemed to carry a bit of everything, and picked up the items they'd been looking for, including a funny portable hand-warmer for Nephrite, who had camped out next to a diner and was refusing to budge. On their leaving, though, the old man pressed another fortune cookie into Kunzite's hand.

He had to protest. "Thank you sir, but I don't care for sweets all that much."

The mysterious old man grinned broadly and winked as he shoved them out the door, locking it behind them. Each man however looked thoroughly startled when, just an instant before the window blinds dropped into place, the prune-faced gent called loudly to Kunzite through the glass. "Not for you, young man, but for good friend who waits."


	16. Blame It On The Rain

"You can't hurry love. No you just have to wait. Love don't come easy…"

Standing outside the downtown diner, Nephrite felt himself grinding his back teeth as the jukebox started up again. Much to his surprise (and likely to Kunzite's disgust), he'd found himself, after lengthy exposure, rather enjoying most of the music played on the diner's gaudy machine. But this particular song seemed only to underscore how painfully long he might well have to wait to find his sweet Lita again. Consequently, he loathed it with a passion that only grew with each playing.

Still, he'd wait as long as it took.

After numerous attempts to astrologically divine her location, that of her senshi sisters and his prince, he'd gotten nowhere. And yet when he'd gone to break the bad news to the other men he'd, by some sort of dumb luck, all but stumbled over her. Or at least he thought it was her.

It had to have been her, he thought desperately.

He'd have recognized that amused giggle anywhere, not to mention her vibrant rosewood mane, in a familiar ponytail, bouncing out the door as she left…on the arm of another man.

Nephrite ground his back teeth again at the memory as jealousy clawed at his insides.

He'd given chase, but to no avail. She and the other man had disappeared entirely into the crowds that were downtown Tokyo on a Friday night. And so he'd had no choice but to return to the diner and pray to Gaia that she would return…preferably alone.

From what he'd been able to have Jadeite sweet talk out of the server he'd all but knocked over in his pursuit, the girl whom be believed to be his lost love was Kino Makoto, another waitress at the diner. From that point on, he'd made up his mind…he simply wasn't leaving until he saw her again. So he waited.

He could now say, with authority, exactly how many black and white tiles were on the diner's floor (368, not counting the kitchen or ladies room), had heard every song in the jukebox at least twice, and had, courtesy of some very kind if overly flirtatious waitresses, sampled a good third of the strange items on the menu. The things they called root beer floats and malts were particularly tasty. Chocolate phosphates and chili cheese fries, however…ugh!

He shook his head wonderingly. It was hard to imagine the elegant Jovian princess he'd known working for a living in such a common place instead of attending court galas and preparing to rule her planet, but then it was a completely different world. He was just new to it this time around.

In any case, he'd been waiting for the past two and a half days, leaving only for an scant hour or two when Zoisite insisted, telling him that he, Zoisite, would personally watch for her while Nephrite was gone, and that if he didn't at least take a shower and shave he'd be more likely to scare her off than win her over.

Nephrite smirked slightly at that, rubbing his again smooth chin. He'd done as Zoisite had suggested, but only because he wanted to look his best for her when they met. One did, after all, only get one chance in any given lifetime to make a first impression. But scared by a two-day's growth of beard? Hah! It only went to show that Zoisite didn't know Lita very well. Princess she was, but she was also made of sturdier stuff than that. There was not much that scared his strong, tough lady.

The smirk, however, faded to be replaced with a sickly frown as he considered that _he_ might well be now one of those few things. He had no idea what memories she might have their past, if any. But he vividly and horribly recalled their last meeting. It was the one that had ended with her blood on his hands and the fall of the Moon Kingdom and Silver Alliance.

Just thinking about it made his stomach, and all the overly fried food therein, churn sickeningly and Nephrite closed his eyes as the vile scene replayed itself before his eyes, shuddering at the painful clenching of his heart. A chill that had nothing to do with the increasingly damp and cold weather made its way down his spine. In desperation he plunged his hand into his coat pocket, fingering the little slip of a fortune which Kunzite had given him. Its hopeful message comforted.

His own memories of his time with the Dark Kingdom after the fall of the Silver Millennium were sketchy, which Zoisite had surmised was an after-effect of being resurrected the way they had been. He did know that he'd had hostile run-ins with the reborn senshi. What he did not know, however, was if he had actually had any contact with Sailor Jupiter.

"Terra, I hope not," he muttered feverishly, checking his watch for the thousandth time. 8:30 PM. When was she going to show?

The chill splash of raindrops on his face and dappling his coat made him swear and reach for the umbrella that Zoisite had insisted on giving him earlier. Great! Now his hair was going to frizz. He'd probably look like a damned poodle when Lita saw him…not exactly the look he hoped to present to the girl whose heart he wanted to win back.

As the skies fully opened up and he heard a rumble of thunder, though, he actually found himself smiling. Lita, he remembered, had loved the rain. Storms, after all, were her element and they also were a passionate reminder of her home planet. He wondered if she still danced giddily in them, welcoming the rain and lightning like an old friend. His grin broadened as he thought back to one particular storm.

The first time they'd kissed had been in the rain and it had been magical. She'd blamed her impulsivity on the rain.

A terrified female shriek from the dark alley next to the diner made him jump, jolting him from the thoughts of that sweetly innocent first kiss. It wasn't Lita screaming. Of that he was sure. But whoever it was, she needed help. It was his duty to act.

He had just reached the alleyway and was brandishing the umbrella like a club, when he heard an all too familiar voice, its tone wonderfully, thrillingly alive and altogether scathing.

"Next time you decide you want to mug some innocent women, you better think again, you rotten, stinking, good-for-nothing creeps! I'm gonna jerk a knot in both your cowardly tails!"

The sounds of banging trashcans, yowling cats, male swearing, feminine threats and fists meeting flesh were loud in the night. A blur that he recognized as the waitress from Friday night raced past him into the diner, yelling something about calling the police.

He tensed, but waited. As long as she could handle matters, it wouldn't do to rush in half-cocked when his notoriously hot-tempered Lita was already in a bad mood. He could already hear the storm growing more intense, most likely in reaction to her volatile emotional state. And that was the sort of thing that could result in a thunderbolt to the ass in short order, or at least a tongue lashing and box to the ears.

The wisdom of his inaction was proved a moment later when a street tough clad in a great deal of black leather and silver studs and sporting a bloody nose was bodily hurled from the alley, landing on the cracked sidewalk with all the grace of a sack of garbage. Seconds later a second battered thug came out on the run. He scooped up his would-be partner in crime and they hotfooted it away from the alley, each blaming the other for getting them involved with the psycho brunette.

"That's my girl," Nephrite whispered with pride. Without thinking he stepped into the dim alleyway, smiling admiringly as he caught sight of her dusting off her hands, backlit from the street beyond.

She was radiant.

Her now drenched skirt of felted wool hung heavily around long legs and her pale jade sweater was plastered wetly to soft curves. Rich reddish auburn curls were darkening to chocolate in the rain, accenting the flawless cream of her complexion. With his exceptional night vision he could actually see the individual crystalline drops that spiked and added luster to the dark lashes surrounding her emerald eyes, which were now glittering with rage.

Nephrite's breath caught somewhere in his chest. But what mattered breath? He'd found his princess and she was as ravishingly lovely as that moment she'd first impulsively kissed him in the rain!

In his glee at finding her again he must have made a sound or a motion, because she immediately resumed a fighting stance, glaring defiantly into the darkness of the alleyway and beyond.

"Okay…" Makoto challenged boldly, tossing her head so her sodden pony-tail slapped against her shoulder. Her fists were upraised toward whoever might have been out there, "You want a piece of me?!"

A brilliant smile lit up his chiseled face and his sapphire eyes gleamed star bright as he tossed the umbrella aside, stepping forward into the light so that she could see him. She was only steps away.

"Yes," he rumbled, his voice heavy with feeling, "but I'll give you a fair trade. My heart for yours, Lita love."

A thousand and one emotions seemed to play over her suddenly ashen face in a matter of seconds as she sucked in a shocked breath and whispered faintly, "Nephrite…"

Slowly she extended a hand toward his face, curving slender fingers around to cup his cheek, trying to convince herself she wasn't hallucinating. Nephrite turned his head, brushing his lips across the soft tips of her fingers, then caught her hand in his, pressing a tender, almost reverent kiss against her palm. Makoto let out a squeak, no louder than that of a mouse, jerking as if she'd been hit with an electric shock, and then her eyes rolled up into her head as, for the first time ever, she dramatically swooned.

Nephrite caught up his fainting Victorian maiden as she slumped gracefully forward into his embrace and chuckled as he lifted her higher into in a secure bridal hold. Now that he'd found her, he had no intention whatsoever of letting her go anytime soon.

"If you wanted me to hold you, sweetheart," he murmured, brushing a kiss across her forehead, "you only had to ask."


	17. Hush

_SLEEP DISORDERS_

_Dreams, Nightmares and Night Terrors_

_Insomnia_

_Sleepwalking and Talking_

_Sleep Paralysis and Hallucinations_

Mizuno Ami, propping her pounding head in her hand, eyed with distaste the copious notes under each header as she thumbed through the scarred S volume of the Medical Encyclopedia. They were the notes of either a medical student, which she was, or a very sleep disturbed individual…which, recently, she also was.

She'd crawled out of bed, bleary and red-eyed, dragging herself to class where she'd gone through the motions of learning, but without a single scrap of her usual enthusiasm or interest. It had been noticeable to such an extent that several of her professors had recommended student social services to her, not wanting to see such a bright light burn out under the pressure of higher education.

Even the Head Librarian, who was usually lost in her private world of books, had noticed and commented worriedly on the change in this most studious of her library's frequent fliers. All day long Ami's normally energetic stride had been slow and muted and if the bags under her eyes had been any larger, she could have used them, instead of her backpack, to haul her textbooks around.

"You don't need to worry so about your exams, Mizuno-san," the rather absent-minded woman had assured her, pressing a palm to Ami's forehead in a motherly fashion. Finding no fever, she'd then ruffled the petite girl's cropped sapphire locks affectionately.

"You have never done less than brilliantly on an exam, my dear, and I expect no change this time. But you need to take better care of yourself. I've half a mind to shoo you out of here so that you can go home and get some sleep and maybe something to eat. A good breeze could blow you to Yokohama and you need your rest or you'll get sick."

Ami could hardly explain to the older woman that sleep was the main source of her problem and a very new one at that.

Never would she, prior to the last few days, have imagined that a scant few uneasy nights could have so thrown her off her stride. Of course, uneasy was not exactly the word for what she had experienced when her eyes had closed.

The term 'nightmares' did not begin to cover the images that had confronted Ami in her sleep over the last two nights either. Night terrors was a far more accurate description, if not clinically speaking, then at least in the common parlance. The visions which came in her sleep were filled with blood and destruction and anguish on such a scale that they left her shaking and chill, weeping silently into her pillow. And by far the most terrifying aspect of the dreams had been the fact that they were, she knew, real and unchangeable. There was no shrugging them off as the mind's fevered attempts to sort out present day issues. Rather, suppressed memories of her past life and subsequent death in combat had chosen now to make their reappearance and Ami was not looking forward to another night of it.

Plus, she had a nasty feeling that if she was experiencing it, the other girls soon would be, if they weren't already.

_Maybe I should call a special senshi meeting. _

And perhaps more disturbing than the dreams of blood and destruction were those that preceded it.

Ami shivered uneasily. Who was she trying to kid? The dream memories that preceded the nightmares were far more disturbing. Full of flirtation and discovery, passion and profound joy…before it all turned to ash. It wasn't every day that you discovered that your murderer and the man who had, in fact, tried multiple times to kill you again after rebirth in Tokyo, was also your former lover, whom you had loved almost more than life itself. And the most disturbing thing of all was the feeling of longing for him that she still felt and the painful questions, pressing like heavy stones in her throat.

Why, if he loved her, had he left and turned to evil? Why had he betrayed them all? Why had what felt so entirely right gone so devastatingly wrong? And why, in spite of everything she knew, did she still wish she could have saved him?

She'd always had a longing for knowledge. Understanding the whys of the universe was Ami's stock in trade. But since she'd become a senshi she'd had to learn to accept that sometimes she couldn't always find out the why. Sometimes she could only try to deal with it.

In this case the only person who could have helped answer the whys was dead and gone, leaving only a bruised psyche, a broken heart, and anxious nights.

Which was why she was researching sleep disorders. Anything to help with the stress.

"Right…Stress disorders too…" she made another notation, sighing wearily as she pushed her slipping reading glasses back up onto her nose. "St…"

As she flipped toward the next section of the book, she was suddenly stopped as a hand reached over her shoulder and blocked her from turning the pages. An arm reached around her from the other side, shoving the book back across the battered wooden table top.

"Still always wanting the answers, aren't you, Amity? Look under 'SO' instead…for soulmates."

Startled at the soft, familiar, sing-song tone in her ear, Ami jerked upright, only to find herself eye to eye with the man who had haunted her. His bright glass-green eyes were gleaming as he stared at her intently.

She blinked rapidly.

He didn't look like a ghost with his copper tinged blonde curls softly framing a lightly tanned, finely chiseled face. The ends of his lips were thinned, slightly pale and worried looking. She couldn't be dreaming. Her sensory imagination wasn't that good, was it?

A hint of sandalwood teased her nose, making it twitch helplessly like a rabbit's. He didn't smell like a ghost either.

And when he reached out, plucking her pencil from nerveless fingers to toss it carelessly onto the tabletop, he felt shockingly corporeal…and warm.

For once Ami's excellent brain failed her. Nothing in her past lives or present had prepared her for how to deal with a ghost made flesh and blood. She only knew that she was ringed by the arms of the man who'd once loved her and once slain her and multiple times tried to harm her and her senshi sisters.

Since before she was even old enough to sign her first borrowing card, Mizuno Ami had been schooled on the proper, quietly courteous behavior that was expected, nay demanded, in a library. She had not once, in multiple lifetimes, breeched that unspoken scholarly code that one did not, by either word or deed, disturb or in any way interfere with others making use of such places. One conducted one's self in a sensible, restrained and civilized manner, expecting that others would do the same. Making any kind of scene in such a location would, therefore, have appalled Ami's well-trained mind as being in the worst possible taste and as unthinkable as defacing the library's books themselves.

However, Ami's mind was no longer making the decisions. Her body, therefore, reacted without the good judgment and quiet, thoughtful contemplation that usually characterized her nature. Her nervous system insisted that she was trapped with nowhere to turn and nowhere to hide. So she forgot multiple lifetimes of carefully cultivated decorum and simply reacted. For once in her lifetime Ami created a complete and utter to-do that would shock every student, teacher, and library staff member within range of her voice and make her forever after infamous in the book of the Head Librarian, who would ever after say, "she was such a sensible girl once."

Ami screamed her head off, her voice ripping shrilly through the stillness of the stacks, echoing off the walls, and ringing off the wood ceiling panels so that she could be heard on multiple floors.

"Hush, honey," her horrified, would-be suitor pleaded, holding up his hands in a gesture of peace. "I'm not going to hurt you. Hush…please."

Ami shrieked louder, her eyes glassy and unfocused like those of a deer caught in the lights of an oncoming semi.

Zoisite flinched as a multitude of suspicious eyes bored into him, though no one nearby quite dared to make a move to break the library-induced inertia. Forced into making a rapid-fire decision, he grabbed Ami by the shoulders and silenced her, stifling her shriek in the most expedient fashion possible.

He kissed her until she hushed. He kissed her until her glasses fogged up and her toes curled. He kissed her until her arms were no longer frantically trying to shove him away from her, but were locked around his neck, her fingers twined in his hair as she kissed him back. And he kissed her until they again both quite forgot that they were standing in the medical reference section of a major, metropolitan university library with students and librarians breathlessly and quite shamelessly staring and security staff racing toward them.

And then he kissed her some more just because it felt so damned good to have her in his arms again.

Hearing, Sight, Smell, and Touch all previously accounted for, Ami's mind dimly reasserted itself to check off the one last sensory box that slotted this encounter in the 'really real and not a dream' box before letting her body take over again.

He tasted too sweet to be a ghost.


	18. Making A Splash

"Thanks for helping me carry all this, honey," Makoto murmured, brushing a lingering kiss over her lover's lips before she shifted her stack of boxes into his arms. "I'd never have managed this lot on my own."

Already weighted down with a stack of boxes containing the sweet treats that Makoto had made for the scholarship fund carnival bake sale, she'd piled on even more. He could barely see over the boxes now. Makoto was busy wrestling an enormous tote bag of her own.

"No problem, sweetheart," Masato said with a satisfied smile. The kiss had been fine payment for his short stint as a pack animal. "I know how important this festival is to you."

"Well, without the scholarship program I wouldn't even be able to afford to go to school, so I've got to support it."

Masato frowned slightly at his girlfriend's words. "You know I'd be happy to help you pay your tuition, love…"

"And you know I don't want that," Makoto replied crisply. "Let's not get into it again, hon. We don't have the time. I've got to hurry and get changed. Would you drop these pastries at the bake sale booth? If Ami-chan or Mamoru-kun is there you can just leave them with one of them. But if not, guard them with your life until one of them gets there or Usagi-chan will scarf down half of the cakes before the carnival even starts. Jinsei-kun might need some help too, with Rei-chan's fortune-telling booth, if you get a chance…she says he's not exactly a handyman. See you in a little while."

Heaving her tote over one shoulder, Makoto disappeared into the women's locker room.

Masato sighed, shaking his head as he walked off toward the bake sale booth. She was still one of the most proud, independent-minded and downright stubborn women he'd ever met…and it practically took an act of the Diet to get her to accept a single yen from him, even if it was just for the groceries he ate.

After he'd dropped off his baked goods delivery into Ami's protective custody, he decided to wander around for a while, looking at the school club's various booths. Every year the university held a carnival as their major fundraiser for their scholarship program, and every club on campus, and consequently a good percentage of the students, participated in one way or another. Minako had somehow wound up as chairperson for the event, which made him wonder if the whole thing was going to blow up in their faces.

Hearing a pained groan followed by familiar muttered curses coming from the fortune telling tent, Masato grinned broadly, getting a quick mental image of Jadeite sucking on his bruised thumb. This could be amusing.

"Good morning," he called out, brushing through the gauzy fabric that veiled the entrance. Inside it was dark and the place smelled heavily of incense. "My own psychic senses told me that a certain blond friend of mine was in trouble, but I thought I'd get a second opinion."

"Well MY non-psychic senses tell me that you'd be better off picking up that hammer and helping than acting like a smart ass," Jinsei rumbled testily, his sea blue eyes stormy. He was holding now a staple gun and a length of lighting cord and eyeing the hammer like it was a snake. Tossing the tool in question at his friend, Jinsei knew that it would be caught before it could hit the ground.

"Just show me where, friend," Masato volunteered, soothing the man's ruffled feathers.

In the manner of men since time immemorial they experienced a bonding moment in the silence as they worked with their tools to finish setting up the booth. Finally Jinsei wiped his forehead, offered up a quick prayer and flipped a switch.

When the lights flickered once, then stayed on, he grinned in satisfaction. "Done! And none too soon either. Rei'll probably be here any minute." He paused for a moment, then mused, "You know, this'll probably be the first time these folks get any real fortunes and they won't even know the difference."

"Probably," Masato agreed. "But as long as Rei-san doesn't foretell the coming of the next major apocalypse or great horror then I don't think anyone will mind. They just think of it all as a game because, unlike some of us, they don't know any better. But maybe Rei-san will actually be able to help someone who needs it. She's very good at what she does, after all, even when she doesn't have a fire to read."

"I know," Jinsei said, looking proud, as if he was in some way responsible for Rei's otherworldly perception.

"Where is she anyway?"

"Oh, she just had to go get changed into something suitably dramatic to fit the show that people expect." Jinsei shrugged.

"Ah…show business." Masato nodded in understanding. "Makoto had to go change too."

Jinsei shot a quick glance from under his bangs at his dark-haired friend. "You know, you'll have to tell me how you did it. You were always so jealous, so when Rei told me about it, I was amazed you'd allow Makoto-san to participate…what with all the men who are bound to show up. We're both impressed, especially after how over-the-top possessive you acted over that old boy friend of Makoto-san's showing up in the apartment unannounced right after you got back together. Not saying that Mako's not entirely trustworthy, but really, how _did_ you get your jealous streak under control?"

The comment drew a puzzled look. "What do you mean jealous? It's just a bake sale. It's not like she's running the kissing booth or something."

"Are you sure?" Jinsei asked, scratching his head, wondering if Masato was putting him on.

"Of course I'm sure. I've only had to live with the smell of fresh baking for the past three days without so much as being able to touch a single luscious bite under threat of an immediate and extremely painful demise. In fact, I dropped off the cakes and stuff just before I came over here. "

"Well, I know Rei-chan said Makoto was working anoth…eh heh.." Jinsei's voice trailed off as Masato sent him a black look.

"What ARE you talking about?"

"Um…never mind," he gulped, wishing he'd never brought up the subject.

"SPEAK!" bellowed the dark-haired man, his temper flaring. His grip tightened on the handle of the hammer.

Jinsei reached out and plucked the tool from Masato's hand, placing it in the storage box, which he then kicked out of reach beneath a skirted table. To himself he muttered, "Storm over the waters…definitely. Better batten down the hatches." To his friend, he simply suggested, "Look, I think you'd better find Makoto and talk to her. Just remember when you do that she really loves you."

Letting out a snort, Masato left the tent, somewhat less pleased than when he'd entered. Jinsei's voice carried out to him, "…and don't bite her head off."

When he tracked down Makoto, Masato suddenly realized what Jinsei had been talking round about. "You can't go out in public dressed like that, Mako-chan," he insisted, simultaneously intrigued and appalled at the amount of his girlfriend's creamy flesh on display.

She was dressed in a curve-hugging, tight skirt of bright green sequins that flared out in a cloud of tulle at mid-calf to form a fishtail. From the waist up she wore only a bandeau bikini top in a bright coral pink color and a shawl of fish netting trimmed here and there with seashells and starfish. A floral and pearl beaded tiara held back her hair, which she wore down, hanging in loose red-brown waves to her shapely hips.

Makoto arched an eyebrow at that. "What? It's just a costume. It covers more of me than the bathing suit I wear to the pool."

"Are you trying to tell me you're going to work the bake sale while in that getup? You can't even walk in it."

"No," said Makoto, looking at him like he was daft. "Of course I won't. I just baked stuff for the sale. I'm going to wear this in the 'Swim the Mermaid' dunking booth. I'm the mermaid."

An appreciative wolf whistle from a passing male student made Makoto flush and Masato snarl, stepping in front of her to block the man's view. "See what I mean, Mako? You can't wear that in public. Your…um…assets are almost completely exposed. Men will only be there to see your chest on display like some strum…"

"DON'T SAY IT!" She snapped suddenly, eyes glinting like green ice as she bounced up on her toes to go eye to eye with him. "Don't you DARE finish that sentence or everyone else will be seeing a lot more of my assets here in public than you will be in private…from your new bed on the couch!"

Makoto stuck a finger in his face, wagging it furiously. "This is a perfectly decent costume and I am wearing it, no matter what you say, Sanjouin Masato. I already told Minako I would not work the kissing booth because you'd have a jealous freak out and now you're freaking out anyway, and I am NOT in the mood to deal with it. Hell, if I got in a lather over every girl who ogled your fine backside, I'd get nothing else done.

"This is one of our biggest fund-raisers," she continued, poking him none too gently in the chest with a manicured finger, "and I won't let your little green-eyed monster attack spoil it. So you have two choices. You can follow me and simply glare over-protectively at people who buy tickets for my booth, or you can go home and I will talk to you later. But either way, I'm leaving and doing my bit for the scholarship fund. Like it or lump it!"

With that she crossed her arms over her chest, turned and stormed off in high dudgeon. She called back with a final parting shot over her shoulder. "Oh, and this skirt quite fully covers my ASSET, Masato-baka!" Her departure after that was marked by a very pronounced hip sway, just to irk him more.

Thoroughly incensed, but left with no one to argue, Masato steamed until he caught sight of Koichi striding his way, hand upraised in greeting. He was at the silver-haired man's side in an instant.

"Where's Aino-san?" he growled unusually harshly, ignoring Koichi's "Ohayo."

Koichi's brows drew together as he frowned. "Getting her booth ready. Why?"

"You've got to tell her she's got to change Mako's assignment. I won't have Makoto on parade for a bunch of guys to ogle over."

"Ah…you heard about the dunking tank assignment, then?"

Shooting the taller man a frustrated glare, Masato nodded curtly. "So you knew too, and neither you nor Jinsei bothered to tell me?"

"Minako said she thinks Makoto-san's booth will bring in more money than it has in years, what with the mermaid theme and all." He paused when his friend raked a hand through his espresso mane and growled. "Anyway, my telling you wouldn't make any difference. And I can't tell Minako what to do any more than you could change Makoto-san's mind, oh temperamental one."

"Why not?!" demanded Masato. It was not clear which statement he meant to question, but Koichi answered anyway.

"Look, if it was up to me, Minako wouldn't be over there putting on makeup for the kissing booth." He cast a sidelong glance at one of the booths where the blonde woman was indeed applying a coat of bright-red lipstick that matched her crimson hair bow. A short line was already forming in front of that booth. "But it's not up to me and I want her to be happy if this fundraiser is a success. So I'm dealing."

When Masato continued to scowl, Koichi smacked him on the arm. "Think! Minako, Makoto, Rei…all of them are like that. They're strong…they make up their own minds and make their own decisions. Just remember that she really loves you madly and this scholarship fundraiser is really important to her since she's one its recipients. So you _could_ fume and carry on like a jealous ass and make her completely lose her temper with you. You _could_ make your soulmate sincerely wonder if the seaweed really _is_ greener in someone else's lake. Or you can show her how you care enough to put your jealousy and possessiveness on the back burner and she'll reward you for it hundredfold.

"It's your choice, Masato…but if you really love her, you'll put on your game face and go out and help make your her fundraiser a great big splashy success knowing that at the end of the day your personal Little Mermaid fairy tale will have a happy ending."


	19. Last On His List

Hino Rei felt like she was being watched.

As she knelt before the fire, the feeling whispered along her nerve endings and kept buzzing at her senses like a pesky little annoying mosquito. But with nothing to slap at, it merely kept her senses atingle. Then nerve-wrackingly ajangle.

At first she'd thought it was a warning…her psychic gift cluing her into the coming of a new threat. But repeated trips to the fire had revealed nothing remotely evil.

Throwing up her hands in frustration, Rei indulged herself in an uncharacteristic screech that made even the sacred normally steady fire before her flicker erratically, throwing dark shadows around the room. A set of prayer beads smacked against a wall.

It was driving her mad.

All day long she'd suffered the feeling: While she'd swept the courtyard, when she'd fed a strangely silent Phobos and Deimos, when she'd cooked her lunch –curry for one was so depressing– and done her chores, while she'd meditated, or at least tried to, before the sacred fire.

The only time it had eased had been for the short hour she'd gone to the hospital to check in on Ojii-chan and update Yuichiro on the doctor's prognosis. Caught up in fretful worry over the declining health of the only family she willingly acknowledged, she'd been able to push the feeling aside. But as soon as she'd returned to the temple, she'd sensed eyes on her again. Yet every time she looked, there was nothing.

Dammit!

The strictly rational side of Rei's mind insisted on blaming the sensation on the dreams and the nightmares. Of course she'd seen nothing. After all, he couldn't be watching her…he was dead.

Jadeite.

A vision of eyes, warm and blue-green as Caribbean seas, danced in her mind, paired with a lazy genial smile. A finger crooked in beckoning. _Kiss me little fire princess…_

The image was replaced with another. The azure eyes were now cold and hate-filled, holding no more warmth than polar ice, and the winning smile twisted into a mocking smirk. There was no welcome for her now. _Bleed and die for me little fire princess…_

She'd been so very stupid and blind!

It had to have been some sort of blessed magic of Queen Selenity's, wiping the slate blank so that she could start life anew on Earth without being haunted by the memory of the Shitennou of the East. Even when she'd come face to face with him again, seen his wheaten curls and handsome face, she hadn't remembered him. Hadn't recalled either the warm strength of his embraces or the aching icy coldness of his sword piercing her heart.

But now everything was different. It had to be the fault of that blasted fortune's talk of love that had dredged it up, and not for the first time, Rei wished she'd burned the silly thing. Like it was some sort of trigger switch, her memories had returned not little by little as they had over the years, but in a rush. Now every time she closed her eyes she saw another one, playing out like a grotesque spectral cabaret. It was no wonder then that she hadn't been sleeping in more than fifteen minute increments since then. But even refusing to sleep hadn't warded off the memories.

Realizing she'd again been unconsciously mouthing a prayer for the repose of the soul of the dead, Rei dashed at her reddened eyes roughly with the back of her hand, swearing when she felt moisture there. She refused to cry. Her tears had all been shed in the Moon Kingdom when she'd first learned of his defection to Beryl's side.

The child of a dead mother and a distant, unloving father, raised as a religious outcast in her own school, and regarded by the public as a psychic curiosity at best, if not an outright spooky witch, Hino Rei did not need anyone to tell her that life wasn't fair. That bone deep knowledge had only been underscored when her destiny had been revealed to her, already shaped by an oath taken a thousand years previous. She'd lived for that oath, fought for it and suffered for it and thrice died for it. She knew she would again.

So why now did she feel like rebelling and railing against the unfairness of life? Why did she want to pull her hair and scream herself hoarse and kick and throw herself on the floor?

A harsh, unpleasant sound rose up in her throat and she fisted her hands in her lap, twisting her scarlet hakama, crushing the crisp linen.

Who was she kidding? People like herself didn't get happy endings. Those were for innocent, unspoiled hearts like Usagi's.

Not that she resented the other girl. On the contrary, she loved her dearly…more than her own grandfather even. Only one other person had ever come as close. But it was sometimes hard to watch an epic love story of the ages play out before one's eyes and not feel at least slightly wistful.

For a moment in time during the Silver Millennium she thought she'd found her own happily-ever-after fairy tale…and her prince. One of the four Heavenly Kings of Terra. Even though she'd nearly flambéed him at their first meeting, she'd loved him quite unreasonably…and fought against it as hard as she could, but in the end he'd slipped into her besieged heart and taken it for his own. He hadn't been calculating, pursuing her, but just terribly persistent and self-assured, wearing down her defenses at every turn. Cocky wonderful bastard. He'd even said, just before he kissed her senseless, that it wasn't his fault but that he'd had no choice since she'd captivated him so.

So typical of Jadeite to blame it on someone else.

In a single abrupt motion she leapt to her feet. It was insane to sit here, her front scorched by the white-hot embers of a dying flame while her back was chilled by the dampness from outside.

With the swift and sure motions of one who'd done the task a thousand times before, she set about banking the fire so that it would not die out before morning. The small chore done, she moved toward her bedroom. The steady drumming of the rain on the tile roof would, she hoped, along with a sleeping pill, provide her with an escape from the memories and a dreamless sleep.

Catching sight of a bucket of dirty wash water in the hall, Rei sighed. She'd forgotten to empty it after she'd finished her chores, an unheard of departure for the normally conscientious-to-a-fault miko.

"I must be losing my mind from sleep-deprivation," she muttered, sliding fully open the nearest shoji screen and hurling the bucket's contents out toward the bushes.

A masculine sputter of outrage startled her into dropping the bucket before she bristled. The pail spun, playing a tinny metallic song before it slowly died away.

"Is someone out there? Show yourself!"

The shrubs rustled and shook and a dark, dripping figure stepped forward from the shadows and straight out of her dreams, the light from the temple making his damp waves gleam with the rich luster of old gold. A shirt of peacock blue silk clung moistly to the planes of a broad chest. Heartbreakingly familiar, his lips were again twisted in a smirk, but this time it was self-deprecatory.

Calculating the odds of total immolation, he decided to risk it, capturing her pale smooth hand in his own rougher tanned and shockingly warm one, brushing his thumb lightly over her flesh and leaving a trail of flame in its wake. With his other hand he stroked strands of ebony silk back, tucking the lock of hair behind her ear and caressing the sensitive spot behind her ear.

Plum colored eyes widened in shock. Crimson lips worked but she made no sound.

Someone had to speak and since she seemed unable, he began, muttering feverishly. "I'd pictured this meeting at least a thousand times before, Divinity Raye, and I'd imagined a thousand different scenarios. At least half of them saw you either roasting me or slapping me silly. So I wasn't surprised to be attacked and Gaia knows I can't blame you. You've always kept me on my toes."

"But I have to say, little Firebird," a wonderfully wicked light flamed up in his vibrant cerulean gaze as he smiled, "your attacking me…with water of all unlikely things…was the last thing I ever expected." His lips descended purposefully a heartbeat later.

"AKURYOU TAISAN!"

"Itai! Now that's more like it…"


	20. It's Not Always Easy

_My Lord Kunzite, what brings you here?_

Kunzite scowled fiercely, turning rudely away from the fawning woman who had been attempting to flirt with him. It was not that she wasn't lovely, but when one had held the goddess of love and beauty herself, all others could only suffer in comparison.

It was not the first such annoyance today while he waited and watched. He wondered again if this was the proper tact to take, but Zoisite had seemed so certain.

As he'd said, "Nephrite's powers have failed us, so have to use our common sense and skill instead. He was lucky and has only to wait to ensure that his lady comes to him. But we must seek out our quarry where they are most likely to be since the city is far too large to hope that the rest of us might be as lucky. We used to hunt. Let's do so again." With that the wily and wiry Shitennou had set out to search every library and scholarly place until he found the Mercurian princess, whose intellect would demand such stimulation. Jadeite had leapt at the plan as well; he hadn't seen any of his men since, though it had been days.

It had seemed an excellent idea at the time, which was why Kunzite was at yet another shopping establishment seeking his lady, who was, as he recalled, remarkably fond of fashion. A pity, he thought, his eyes glazing over in memory, as she looked so much more stunning sans any clothing at all…but he'd never been able to convince her to stay that way.

In any case, for want of any other plan, here he was at the fifth such marketplace. A department store, they called them. After some consideration he had decided to do his watching and waiting in the area between shoes and cosmetics. He had briefly considered ladies apparel, but rethought the matter realizing he would be far less noticeable elsewhere. Not that, with his unique silver coloring, he had gone particularly unnoticed.

Aside from the salespersons who had attempted to charm him into buying items and the security staff who had, at least for a while, watched him as if he was a common thief, he had also drawn a more than welcome amount of notice from women passing through the two departments. And a few foolhardy men. Offers of both romantic and prurient natures had been forthcoming. Indeed, he'd gotten one offer that he didn't even understand. He had dealt with them all by the same method…ignoring them. It usually didn't take long for even the boldest flirt to wither under his chill stare. Only she never had.

He sighed dispiritedly, rubbing his stiff shoulder and leaning against a column. It was getting late. The store was almost deserted and would close shortly. Perhaps he should go. If he could track down any of his men, they could come up with a new plan. For if they could not find the women, perhaps they could find the prince.

That sound notion was dropped moments later when a ravishing woman rounded the far end of the perfume counter, sample in hand, trying to get the salesclerk's attention.

"Minya," he breathed in disbelief, drinking in the sight of rounded curves, pouting ruby-glossed lips, the studiedly messy topknot of gold that screamed for a man to take it down before taking her to bed.

_By gods, the stupid idea worked!_

The faint sound turned her head.

An amber bottle of Aphrodite's Kiss dropped from nerveless fingers to the glass counter with a splintering crack. Azure eyes rounded in sudden horror, then flashed with righteous fury as her spine stiffened.

Haltingly he moved toward her, but she gave a short, sharp shake of her head and moved toward the exit, refusing to risk innocents. Her eyes narrowed as he made to hold the door for her, but then he realized that she was keeping her back to the wall and so he turned, exposing his to her, and never looked back. Only the soft tap of her shoes behind him let him know she still followed. He sensed rather than saw the moment she henshined and dropped his own glamour at the same moment, exposing his uniform proclaiming him a protector of Elysion.

He heard her muffled curse.

When they were finally alone, deep in the cavernous darkness of the alley, they faced off. To put her at ease he set aside his visible weapons, sword and boomerangs, coming toward her barehanded. The attempt was well meaning, but ultimately useless. She wasn't feeling either trusting or forgiving.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't Crescent Beam you straight to Hell!" she demanded in honey sweet tones which belied her caustic intent. Her beautiful face was porcelain brittle, taut with strain.

Well, that was blunt. The challenge reminded him that she was no longer a girl, in spite of her youthful façade, but a woman grown and a commander born and bred.

"Because Sailor Senshi don't harm the innocent."

Her face contorted in sudden rage and a wash of gold flared up in the blue of her eyes. With a sharp flick of her wrist, his weapons sailed across the alley and landed in a heap of refuse, making him wince at the thought of how the sword's edge would suffer. The gleaming chain, freed of its burden, snapped back, recoiling around her waist with a quietly lethal hiss.

She was not inclined toward sympathy. "No. But whatever else you may be, you're NOT innocent, Kunzite. You never were. And you certainly cannot claim to be so now."

The look of pain brought by seeing too much settled onto his face, deepening the lines here and there. He could not deny the truth of her words. "No."

She raised her hand, forefinger extended menacingly. "Care to try again?"

"I'm no threat to you, Minya," he murmured low. His silver grey eyes glittered in shadow like moonlight on a dagger's edge.

That was a bald-faced lie, they both knew. He was a threat to her just by the very fact of his breathing, but they both chose to ignore the obvious. After all, equally unspoken was the knowledge that she was as much a threat to him.

"Why are you here?" she hissed, tossing her head, making the gold strands of her hair spray out in a glittering fan. Had she been feline like her guardian, her ears would have been flattened out angrily along her skull. He almost smiled at the idea of a spitting, clawing, golden-eyed she-cat. It was…stimulating.

"To thank you and to ask for your help."

Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Thank me? For what?"

"Freeing me from Beryl. Death was infinitely preferable to playing her puppet. I just was too far gone to know it at the time."

She rolled her eyes and her voice was saccharine. "Pleased to be of service. Just say the word and I'm sure I can summon the others for another Sailor Planet Attack since we obviously didn't kill you nearly enough last time." She flashed him a death's-head grin. "We're stronger now."

He rubbed his chest as if still feeling the pain of his own weapon embedded there. One of the boomerangs pulsed sluggishly with a flicker of light in response. Wryly, he replied, "Thank you, no. Once was enough to do the trick."

"Indeed?" Sailor Venus sniffed, nostrils flaring as if scenting a lie. "Can I assume your presence here means that the…others…are here as well?" She arched one brow in query and tapped a toe impatiently. At his nod, she bared her teeth in a feral expression that was most definitely not a smile. "You do know, I will not hesitate to kill them in an instant if they so much as glance the wrong way at my senshi."

"You remember, then?" Kunzite's eyes darkened and she stepped back quickly as he took a step toward her. He froze when she danced nervously backward, her hand going to her waist, fingering her chain.

"Yes, of course I do." Her tone was flat, barely above a whisper.

"I'm sorry."

"Sorry?! SORRY?!" She glared at him, one trembling hand bunching into a fist at her side as her sigil flickered faintly on her forehead. "I…We deserve more than that, Kunzite. They DIED! Were murdered by the loves of their lives!" Deliberately she excluded herself and he absorbed the rejection quietly, though it wrenched at his heart. She paused no more than a heartbeat before continuing on.

"If the Shitennou," –she practically spat the word as an oath– "think that they get second chan…"

He held up his hand, placing it to her lips. "I can assure you that they would sooner kill themselves than cause the princesses further pain. If the ladies do not wish their presence, Venus, my men will accept it." He knew as he said it, that he was, at least for himself, lying at the last, and he betrayed himself, brushing his finger over rose petal lips. He couldn't help giving into the urge to touch some part of her. "All they want is a chance to test the waters. Is that too really much to ask?"

She abruptly snapped at him, pearl teeth clicking as they nearly took off the wayward digit. He jerked his hand back, eying her warily, as he would a wildcat.

"You're right," he said suddenly, as if deciding something. "You do deserve more." In one smooth motion that had her tensing to spring, he palmed a gleaming stiletto from his boot, swiftly reversing it so that it was extended to her, hilt first, in an unmistakably symbolic fashion. He hissed and a bead of liquid scarlet welled up between his fingers as the razor-sharp edge bit into his hand.

"Will you do the honors, Lady Venus, or shall I?"

She eyed the deadly tip of the blade which pointed firmly in the direction of his heart. "Don't tempt me," she muttered softly. "Put that away this instant!"

"Then you don't want your pound of flesh?" he asked, his brows lifting in curiosity. At her fulminating glare, he shrugged, wordlessly replacing the blade in his ankle sheath. She missed the smile that flickered ever so faintly around his lips, for when he rose again, he was his usual stoic self.

"We shall see," she retorted acidly, sliding into the darkness. Her skin gleamed golden in the faint, dying light of the moon as clouds rolled in and thunder rumbled. "Keep your men far, far away from my senshi. If and when I want to see you, I'll let you know. And if that day comes, then maybe…just maybe, you can ask me for a favor." He heard the soft grunt of breath and the click of her heels as she took to the rooftops. "Goodbye, Kunzite."

As the heavens opened up around him, rapidly drenching him to the skin, he called quietly, "For now, Venus…Goodnight. But never goodbye."

(Author's Note: What can I say? Minako-chan's a little too late with her demands…)


	21. Good Intentions

"Pick up! Pick up! Dammit! Pick UP!"

Minako was practically cracking the handset of her cellular picture phone/communicator as she listened tensely to a shrill ringing. Finally the screen in the center of the phone lit up and she was face to face with the one she'd called.

"Rei-chan! Thank kami-sama! I need to call a senshi meeting at your place, ASAP!"

The raven-haired priestess, still in her crimson and white robes, frowned at her friend. "What's the big deal, Minako? Now's not really a good time…"

"It's an emergency. We need to meet at your house. I already called Usagi and she's probably on her way to the temple now."

Purple-violet eyes widened in complete surprise. "I suppose…" Rei muttered weakly. A commotion had her setting down the phone for a moment. From her end Minako got a great view of the ceiling beams as she heard Rei screech at someone, probably Yuichiro, "Put the damned scrolls down before I hit you with a broom already!"

"I'm sorry," Rei grumbled, picking up the phone again and shoving tangled hair out of her face. "Like I said….a bad time."

"Well, I'll be there soon, so deal with whatever it is. This is important. The kami-cursed Shitennou are back!"

Seeing the color drain from her friend's face, Minako disconnected her call and punched a specially marked blue button on the phone.

Back at the Hikawa shrine, Rei turned to face an azure-eyed, blond man who had finally stopped meddling with antique religious artifacts and was holding her willow broom up out of arms reach, flashing a taunting smile. The smirk wilted as he took in her bleached complexion.

"What is it Firebird?"

"Hell!" she muttered, making his golden eyebrows shoot up toward his bangs. "We've got a problem. Imminently."

"Did I miss something?" he asked, lowering the broom and taking her in his arms.

A strident ringing that wouldn't quit had Ami flicking the button on her own phone. She looked rather disgruntled, however, making Minako assume she'd interrupted a study session. When Ami realized who was on the other end, though, she blinked and violently shoved something down out of line of sight. Her face went incredibly red, making her look like a sunburned tomato. Normally it would have made Minako wonder, but not that night.

"Minako-chan?"

"Ami!" Minako barked, sounding faintly unhinged. "Emergency senshi meeting in half an hour at Rei's." At Ami's mystified blink, she said just a bit more. "Shitennou. Back. Be extra careful! 'Nuff said. Gotta go."

As the tiny screen on Ami's phone went black, she stared down at the startled green-eyed man who had so unceremoniously been dumped off her couch when the call came in. He was shaking his head as she helped him back up. "This is not good…not good at all."

The green button had been depressed, but the communicator merely continued to buzz sullenly. Pacing, Minako clawed at her hair, raking her fingers through the golden mass as she hollered into the device.

"Pick up! Pick up! Dammit! Pick up! Pickuppickuppickup! Call me immediately if you get this message! Dammit, Mako-chan! I'm gonna hot glue your communicator to your hand."

An agitated Minako scowled furiously, snapping her phone shut and hurling it into her bag. When a gleaming yellow sports car slid up along side her, its engine purring like a cat, and the door opened, she did not brighten. She merely slid in and buckled up, looking grim.

"I got here as quick as I could. Michiru's out of the country on tour and she's got Hotaru with her. They'll teleport back if they have to, though." There was a pause, just long enough for the light to change. "To the temple?" inquired the driver, since it would affect they direction they turned at the intersection.

"No…to Mako-chan's." At Haruka's arched brow, Minako scowled blackly. "I couldn't get a hold of her and she's not answering her communicator. I'm really worried. With those men on the loose, it's not safe. Not even for someone as strong as Mako-chan. So we'll go there and fetch her personally, if she's there. I've got a key…"

The chill tone of the Venusian's voice indicated that there would be hell to pay if Makoto was at home and choosing not to answer her communicator for any reason.

"We'll be there in no time," Haruka said, gunning the car's motor. "Hang on tight."

They arrived in record time and Minako was soon unlocking the thunder senshi's front door. "Mako-chan!" she called out. The small apartment, which could also have doubled as a greenhouse, was still. Experimentally she pressed a button on her communicator phone, then frowned as a tinny, electronic version of 'Candyman' softly chimed forth from the depths of large crocheted handbag which was slung haphazardly on the back of an overstuffed floral-print chintz armchair. Only Mako-chan, Minako thought disgustedly, would have THAT song as a ringtone.

Otherwise, though, the apartment appeared completely normal except for some wrinkled clothes scattered around on the living room floor. Mako-chan's sickeningly neat standards must be slipping since she went back to school full-time, Minako thought. She never used to leave stuff lying around.

"Well…if her purse is here," Haruka said, "it's encouraging. She's probably not lying dead or mugged on the streets of Tokyo. Check her bedroom. It's pretty late. Maybe she's asleep and didn't hear it ring."

Minako nodded, shoving open the bedroom door. Seeing a long tangle of wavy brown hair just peeking out from beneath a fluffy rose print comforter, she sighed with relief, letting out the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. "Oh good!" gasped Minako, "You're not dead."

She barged into the room, resetting her severe leader's frown in place as she opened her mouth to issue a none-too gentle wake-up call.

She let out a stifled yelp of startlement a half-second later, whirling as a hand landed on her shoulder from behind just as she was about to jerk away the bulky comforter from the sleeper. Her eyes shot wide as Minako realized she was staring at an equally wide-eyed, very bare footed and dewy fresh Makoto, who was wrapped in a damp apple green satin dressing gown and had a wet towel draped over one arm and a shower cap in hand. She smelled of lavender and talcum powder and her red-brown curls hung in wild corkscrews around her face and clung moistly to her neck. She had clearly just emerged from the steamy confines of the en-suite bath.

"Minako," whispered Makoto furiously. "What the HELL do you think you're doing barging into my bedroom unannounced?!" When she noticed the taller, older blonde woman also staring into the room, she felt a hot, mortified color stain her cheeks. "And what did you bring her here for?"

"Mako-chan," gasped Minako, looking from the woman to the brown-haired body which was beginning to stir in the bed. "Waitaminute! If you're here, then who is that?" she demanded, pointing.

The brunette's blush went from merely hot to scorching and had moved down from her face her neck, then further until she started to look reddish all over. "Get out, Minako. Now."

"Hrm," drawled Haruka, crossing her arms over her chest and leaning against the doorjamb in a studiedly casual manner. Her gaze, though, was anything but casual. Her eyebrow was arched and she looked distinctly disapproving, making Makoto writhe uneasily. "I think I'd like an answer to the question myself."

"Haruka-san…" protested Makoto, moaning faintly. She slumped onto the edge of the bed because it felt like her legs weren't going to hold her up much longer.

Growing up without parents to oversee her adolescence, Makoto had never experienced a sensation quite like the one she was now feeling, but when she looked from one accusing blonde face to another she was pretty sure that this was very similar to being caught in a lover's clinch by one's parents. It was humiliating in the extreme. It was a nightmare.

Of course that was nothing compared to the situation a moment later when a strong tanned arm snaked out from under the covers and wrapped around her waist as a satisfied-sounding male voice rumbled, "That was quick, sweetheart. Come back to bed…"

Minako's lapis lazuli eyes shot so wide open that her face started to resemble that of a kewpie doll. "I know that voice…Shit!"

Haruka's hands clenched into fists and she uncoiled herself from the doorframe, sliding into a fighting stance. She'd recognized it too.

"Oh Zeus," Makoto muttered in strangled tones, hiding her flaming face in her hands. She'd gone past red and her face was starting to move toward a rare shade of heliotrope. "Just go! Please…"

"What's the matter, love?" murmured Nephrite a bit sleepily, when he realized how unusually stiff Makoto was in his embrace. He shoved back the pastel coverlet and sat up, only then realizing they had company. Very familiar-looking and irate looking company at that.

"You bastard!" Minako hissed, so scandalized and flat out mad that she completely ignored the loving emotional currents that were rolling off the two in waves, despite embarrassment. "Kunzite was supposed to keep up his end, damn him, and keep you away!"

A dull brick-red flush stained Nephrite's cheeks as he jerked the comforter back up, making sure it decently covered everything critical. There was nothing, however, he could do about his bare chest. "Oh crap!" he mumbled to himself in horrified realization. "I'm a dead man…"

"You got that right, buster!" A white-knuckled hand thrust an orange and gold henshin wand skyward.

Nephrite quickly thrust Makoto behind him, shielding her body with his, the protective action one which had Haruka suddenly shooting out a hand to grab the senshi leader and jerk her back an instant before she could attack the unarmed man.

"Leggo Haruka!!!" hollered Minako, wriggling frantically as the taller, stronger woman bundled her into an unbreakable bear hug. "I'm going to see to it that he dies and stays dead this time! He seduced Mako-chan again, the evil bastard!"

Wrestling the henshin wand from Minako's grip, Haruka gave the smaller woman a brutal shove, sending her stumbling back out into the living room. By the time she picked herself up off the floor, the bedroom door was again closed and firmly locked this time, leaving her to only hammer at it furiously with her fists. "HARUKA! DAMN YOU!"

"So," said Haruka, leaning lazily back against the door as if they, and all of Makoto's neighbors, could not hear Minako's voice and thudding hands plainly through the thin wooden panel. Her razor-sharp gaze locked with Nephrite's and despite a lack of a shirt, he clearly felt like his collar was much too tight. Makoto had buried her face in a pillow, whispering something about putting Minako on meds, so he was on his own now. The senshi of the wind looked from the woman who was probably the closest thing Haruka had to a little sister to that same young woman's lover, then grinned shark-like.

"Nephrite-san, can I trust that your intentions are entirely honorable…?"


	22. Coffee Klatsch

"…and then I absolutely knew that if I gave the wrong answer, I'd die. Seriously, guys. I don't mind telling you that one has a _very_ intimidating stare. Made my blood run cold. I thought at first I'd run into an overprotective older brother. Then it got worse."

Nephrite slid his coffee cup from hand to hand, watching the dark liquid waves roll and break against its pottery sides. He'd all but forgotten he was supposed to be drinking the stuff. "Fortunately the proper answer was not at all hard to give. Though I'm not sure it even registered with Li…er…Makoto at that point, she was so embarrassed."

He paused, cobalt eyes fixing on his favorite 'sweater girl', the pretty waitress who was bustling around in another section of the restaurant. As if sensing his heated gaze, she turned and smiled, then blew him a kiss and gave him a sassy, emerald-eyed wink before turning back to take a customer's lunch order. Nephrite went back to his coffee, smiling a slightly goofy, very sappy, lovesick grin.

"I'd say I can't believe they seriously caught you in bed," Jadeite laughed out loud and pounded his fist on the table, drawing repressive glances from other booths around them, "but then I just saw your face. Oh brother, Neph! What a way to stick your…um…foot into it."

"Shut up!" As shamed color stained his cheeks, the dark haired man shot his friend a still darker look that should have withered him on the spot. "It's not like I planned it… I mean, at least not so soon. But she was just so damn gorgeous and I wanted her so much and she, well… Aw hell! Why am I telling you this anyway? Pervert! I'm sure you'll find out what it's like soon enough."

"I wouldn't mind, but I doubt it." Zoisite said, looking thoughtful as he stirred a spoon through the murky purple liquid in his glass and licked the froth from it. "Ami's father doesn't seem to be a part of her life. And I've yet to meet her mother. Ami says she's a surgeon and working incredible hours, so it's likely to be a while before anyone comes asking about my intentions." He sounded vaguely disappointed.

Zoisite's comments drew a faint frown from Nephrite. "I really don't know the story about Makoto's family. She lives alone. On a shelf where she keeps a bunch of framed pictures I saw a picture of her as a little girl in the arms of a young couple, but nothing recent. It's very odd. But I can't really see her as the kind of person who'd have a rift with her family, temper or no. This business…the split with Venus-sama is killing her as it is."

All three men frowned, realizing that there was a great deal they still had to learn about the women that they loved.

"Rei's got a man who lives with her," Jadeite said abruptly and with a touch of bitterness, drawing looks of complete astonishment from both Nephrite, who nearly spilled his cup of coffee, and Zoisite, whose mouth sagged outright.

"I beg your pardon?" Nephrite finally managed, wondering if he needed to clear out his auditory canals.

"I said, Rei's got a man who lives with her…at her temple. Yui…something." The man's voice was ragged, filled with jealousy and something a bit more. "She says he's just there to help her grandfather, especially now that he's sick, but I have to wonder. At least on Yui-whatshisname's part."

Still looking faintly stunned, Zoisite asked, "And you're okay with that? You, Jadeite?!"

A shadowed look of dismay rolled across Jadeite's face. "It's not like I've got a lot of choice. I'd have loved to pitch the guy out on his backside at the very least, but maybe by giving her my trust, she can begin to trust in me again. After all, I have a helluva lot to make up for."

"We all do," sighed Nephrite, picking up his cup and taking a long, bitter sip. "I'm frankly amazed that Li…I mean, Makoto, hasn't said ANYTHING to me about it, even after I explained what happened. She never held back her expressing her feelings in the past, so it worries me. I mean, I know I shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth, but I keep feeling like it's going to come back and bite me later on. Sword of Damocles, you know?"

The two blond men nodded in understanding, although Jadeite rubbed his forehead as if feeling a certain lingering pain there. It was the spot where he'd been nailed by an ofuda recently.

"And we still haven't found Endymion yet," Zoisite mused. "I just know Ami knows of his whereabouts, but she hasn't volunteered," he said with a scowl. "I haven't wanted to ask."

"Me either," admitted Jadeite quietly. "Both because I want to find him myself…ourselves, and because of the trust thing. Add in the situation with Sailor Venus and it's all very dicey."

"Has Kunzite spoken to anyone about that night?" asked Nephrite. "Whatever happened between him and Venus had to be huge, and ugly, since she was in the kill first and ask questions later mood she was when she showed up at Makoto's place."

"He wouldn't say," Zoisite admitted, looking distressed. "When I tried to broach the subject he looked at me like I'd stabbed him and then he snapped at me outright, which you know is a departure for him. Brooding Kunzite is normal. Not barking. I really feel for him…"

"Rei should be here soon," Jadeite said, looking pleased at the prospect of getting his woman away from Yuichiro's presence. "She's always had terrific insight into people's souls. Maybe she can point us in the right direction with Kunzite and Venus."

The jangle of bells at the door proved him right. A raven-haired beauty in casual pink overalls looked around the crowded eatery, wrinkling her nose with disgust when she didn't immediately spot any familiar faces. Waving, Jadeite caught her attention, motioning for her to join them in the booth. A second later she spotted a faintly bedraggled looking Makoto busily working her section, taking sundae orders from a huge group of be-fukued, giggling middle-schoolers who were busily shooting straw wrappers at one another.

The fire priestess' stride faltered just slightly at seeing the three men, all former enemies, together in the booth. Facing a resurrected Jadeite one on one had been hard enough, but the group of them was downright intimidating, even though Makoto and Ami had assured her that Nephrite and Zoisite were no longer evil. She shot a quick glance over her shoulder at Makoto, whose emerald eyes, visible over her order pad, contained a decided expression of sympathy. It warmed Rei to know that Makoto understood and she wasn't alone in her feelings. Adjusting to the presence of the revived Shitennou would take time.

Turning, Rei she stuck her stubborn chin in the air and made her way toward the men boldly. She felt somehow slightly less worried when she spotted the ice cream and grape soda concoction in Zoisite's hands. How scary could a man who drank Purple Cows through bendy straws be anyway? The thought made her smirk and she hastened her step.

Though Jadeite had turned most of his attention to her, the other men were deeply engrossed in their conversation and she wondered at it when she heard a snippet as she approached.

"…because Terra knows, we've got to do something about those two." Zoisite was saying as Nephrite nodded in agreement and lifted his cup to his lips.

"Hey Firebird!" Jadeite grinned broadly, sweeping her onto his lap without warning and smacking a loud, obnoxious kiss on her lips. The rowdy middle-schoolers in Makoto's section cheered and hooted at the blatant public display of affection.

He had every intention of turning the kiss into something a good deal more heated, but Rei, furious at being made into a public spectacle, hissed, "Baka hentai!" and swatted her man on the back of the head. Wriggling free, she stood a step from the table, her arms crossed over her bosom as she glared daggers at him. Nephrite, trying not to laugh, choked on his coffee and wound up sputtering helplessly into a napkin as Zoisite laughed out loud, both at Jadeite's set-down and Nephrite's near mishap.

"I agree, Zoisite," interjected Jadeite, who had somehow managed to keep a part of his mind on the conversation, though he was still staring intently at his fiery princess. "We've got to act." He rubbed his scalp, making Rei blush at her outburst, but his next words made it even worse. "After all, Kunzite and Venus deserve the chance to be at least as lucky as the rest of us…"

(Author's Note: Poor Neph…he's the only one whose girl's name made a major change. He's having to get used to it. And poor, poor Kunzite and Minako. Meddling is going to commence. Kami-sama help them both!)


	23. Perspective

"I HATE THEM! MAY YOUMA TAKE THEM ALL!"

The unexpected sounds of the enraged scream and the slamming of the door, so hard that it shuddered on its hinges, startled the man under the kitchen sink so badly that he forgot himself and attempted to sit up. The sharp connection of his scalp and the drain pipe dropped him hard. But when the pain finally dulled back to a merely agonizing throb, he cast aside the wrench and eased himself back out from the cabinet to investigate…thereby saving the plumbing from certain doom.

His timing was off again, he realized when the heavy crocheted handbag, hurled at the previously closed door, hit him in the head, knocking him backward a few steps.

The party who'd thrown it gawked for a moment at her unintentional handiwork, startled out of her rage, then burst into tears. "Gomen," she sniffled, flinging herself at him and babbling. "I didn't know you were here…I mean, I thought you'd be at work…I mean…I didn't mean to hit you, Nephrite."

He bundled her off to the couch, forcing her to sit as he dabbed at the tears with a tissue.

"What on Earth's the matter, hon?" he asked, taking in her reddened face and trembling hands which bunched into fists at his question.

"It was my class," she choked out. "The challenge I told you about…"

He cast his mind back, trying to remember. She was so overly enthusiastic about most of her culinary courses that he sometimes had a tendency to tune out some of it, focusing more on watching her smile and the light in her bright eyes as she chattered than on what she was actually saying. Now it looked like that was about to bite him in the butt…and then by a stroke of luck or the grace of Aphrodite he remembered.

"The signature dish? Based on a senshi. You got Mercury, I think. Right? Did something go wrong with yours, love?"

She shook her head, closing her eyes. "No…chef loved the minted blueberry sorbet. Said it symbolized her perfectly. It was what happened later."

"That baka Kochinou Keisuke got Jupiter!"

He winced. She'd ranted to him before about the man, claiming he was a talentless hack, an embarrassment to the culinary world. It was the last person he would have wanted to get HER senshi.

On a roll, Makoto blurted out some more, her temper rekindling. "He said the challenge was stupid so all he did was dump some bright green pesto on a plate and some steak. Just slapped a big, clumsy hunk of cow on there. He thought he was being just soooo clever. And when chef asked him to explain why that symbolized Jupiter, everyone laughed.

"Because…" he prompted gently, rubbing a hand up her arm.

"Because he said all flippant and everything, "Oh, she's the muscle," Makoto announced in wounded tones, a new rush of hot tears stinging her eyes.

He couldn't help it; his lips twitched. Eagle eyes saw and flashed poison green as she thumped him on the chest hard with a closed fist.

"You think it's funny!" she accused bitterly. "How could you?!"

"Well…" he held up his hands hastily so she wouldn't hit him again. "It's not exactly funny, but it's not a huge tragedy either, love."

Makoto actually bared her teeth, jerking away from him, and drew her knees up to her chin, glaring at the wall.

"Baka! You don't get it at all. Everyone else has an identity. Moon, they say, she's the spirit of the senshi. Oh, and Venus…she's the gorgeous one and a leader besides. Mars, she's the fiery, passionate, exotic one. And Mercury's brilliant and has that icy, delicate beauty, of course. But Jupiter…she's just the dumb old muscle. The one with the power but without the brains. All brawn and no sense and too tall besides. Dammit! Do you have any idea how humiliating that is?"

Then she glared back at him over her shoulder, her gaze slipping from the top of his dark leonine mane of hair and down over his model-perfect chiseled features. Dashing away the tears with the back of her hand, she muttered, "What am I saying? Of course you don't…"

Realizing she really, genuinely had her feelings hurt by this, he reached up to stroke her hair and soothe her bruised spirit, but Makoto snarled and jerked away from his touch. "Don't touch me!"

"Honey…" he said, trying again. Her spine stiffened, everything about her now screaming 'hands off'.

"I should have thrown my knife kit instead," she growled.

He winced, his hand hovering just above her back. "Leave me alone," she mumbled, sniffling faintly. "Bastards," she continued, damning all men everywhere.

Momentarily defeated, his hand dropped back into his own lap. An old oath was forced out from his tightly clenched jaw. A muscle ticked in his cheek. Sometimes, he thought not for the first time, she was entirely too much like Rei, who could be a man-eater of the first order. In her mood, she would require special handling.

"Mako-chan," he wheedled.

She snorted evilly.

"Makoto," he cajoled.

She bristled, growling under her breath.

"MAKOTO!" he bellowed furiously.

"WHAT?!" she shrieked back at him, whirling and slamming her fists down on the fat cabbage rose print of the couch. "What? What? WHAT?!"

Her eyes were snapping with magnificent fury and she looked like she wanted to throttle him or pummel him with throw pillows until surrendered. Although it was a pure cliché, she really was amazingly beautiful when she was mad.

He grinned, finally having gotten her to look at him. "Ahem." he said his voice deep and sonorous. "Now that I've got your attention…"

A low, dangerous sound came again from back in her throat, like the growl of a grizzly bear. He had to make this good, or she was going to know the reason why.

Nephrite cleared his throat. It was now or never. "First," he said, "I want to apologize for finding humor in the situation because I can see now how upset it made you. I would not have intentionally hurt your feelings, hon. You know that." When Makoto rolled her eyes and huffed out a sulky breath, he held up a hand. "Now do me the courtesy of hearing me out, love."

"I think," he suggested, "that you're undoubtedly right when you said that that Keisuke guy is an idiot. So you shouldn't let it get you down because, honestly, consider the source. And second…" he paused for a moment. "Even an idiot can get things right sometimes without knowing why."

Icy emerald eyes narrowed into chill little slits. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?!"

Reaching out with a single finger, Nephrite toyed with the fine silver chain that hung around her throat dangling a bangle. "It means that as I think about it, the steak isn't altogether a bad representation of Jupiter…of you, but that moronic fool didn't really understand why, seeing only the most obvious and dull-witted reason why. Muscle."

He shook his head, as if unable to comprehend the stupidity of the other man. "And even if he had the brainpower to understand more why it fit you, aside from that, he probably couldn't have articulated it."

"And I suppose you can?!" Makoto demanded challengingly, nostrils flaring as her fingers bit deeply into an overstuffed chintz sofa cushion and twisted viciously.

"I believe so."

When she merely glared daggers at him, Nephrite smiled, his fingertip leisurely tracing the symbolic sterling lightning bolt pendant that slashed jaggedly across the hollow at the base of her throat. Gently he pressed the lavaliere down enjoying the contrast between the cool metal and warm flesh.

"No one could say that you ever lack…sizzle."

Makoto's mouth dropped open and her expressive verdigris eyes rounded in shock at the audacious and unexpected comparison.

Encouraged by the non-verbal response, Nephrite continued after a moment. He slid the pad of his fingertip back up her creamy throat to beneath Makoto's sagging jaw, poking it gently back into place. "You can be either tough, darling, or very, very tender, depending on how you're treated. But you're always toothsome." He grinned wickedly at her. "Very."

Sapphire eyes glittered with interest as she sucked in a breath and swallowed hard. Chuckling, he smoothed a palm over her soft hand, then trailed it ever so slowly up her forearm and over her shoulder, until his fingers curved around the back of her neck. Makoto shivered, rage forgotten, as his feather-light touch left a trail of fire in its wake. Not once had his intent gaze broken contact with hers as he then trailed his hand indolently down the length of her spine.

"Just like with a good steak," he murmured more softly, leaning nearer so that she could hear his words, "there's something about you that makes a man want to linger and take his time." His warm breath feathered the delicate hair along her ear and she shut her eyes for a moment, lashes fanning out in dark crescents across her cheeks as he nipped one lobe softly, somehow avoiding the fragile carved jade earring she wore, then breathed, "To savor the experience."

Her emerald orbs fluttered open again when she felt an illusory touch whisper along her lips, his thumb following their full rounded contours. "So…succulent," he said as if tasting the word and finding it juicy, ripe and very much to his liking.

Heated color burned her cheeks as she flushed at the wicked light in his eyes and the rich, seductive tone of his voice. She was staring at him slumberously, mesmerized as her handsome wizard spun his provocative enchantment.

Nephrite leaned in until his lips hovered just above Makoto's, only a breath away from claiming a kiss. "And while some people's tastes may vary, love," he murmured, cupping her rosy cheeks in warm hands as he tipped back her head, lifting her eager lips toward his.

"…I find that both taste best on the tongue when just a…little…bit…pink."


	24. Decisions, Decisions

The simplest thing would have been to kill him at the outset.

Sailor Jupiter paced around the wine cellar of Kino Makoto's small restaurant, her heels clicking nerve-wrackingly on the stone tiles. Every now and again she would, without conscious thought, try to gnaw on her fingernails, only to stop when she found herself chewing on the fabric of her gloves instead. All the while she kept shooting angry glances at her captive, who was presently bound to a chair, blindfolded and unconscious.

That thunderbolt she'd hit him with in a panic, had, perhaps, been a bit strong, but she'd been in rather a state of shock.

It had been almost as bad as the first time. Finding out that Nephrite had been reborn… resurrected…whatever you called it, after his death at the hands of Zoisite, and had through fate's bizarre and somewhat sick sense of humor been the one who'd stepped larger than life from the slick red car, ushering a strange but beautiful woman into the new art gallery next to her restaurant, well…it had rattled her so badly, she'd nearly driven up onto the sidewalk.

Then it was shock. She refused to call it jealousy…even though she'd floored her van just then, taking almost indecent satisfaction in the grinding crunch and screeching tear of metal as the old battle wagon of a catering truck collided with his bright cherry-colored Ferrari. She'd even managed to back up and hit it a second time, mangling it beyond all help, before he'd run out at the sound of wanton destruction, whereupon she'd played confused and innocent of intent as the police arrived. It had even been worth the outrageous increase in her insurance premiums just to savor the look on his face when he saw the sad remains of his overpriced toy. And to know that the artsy-tartsy bimbo had left that day and not returned.

It had taken years for the full memories to come, but whatever the cause of the delay, all of the senshi had, in the fullness of time, regained their full memories of the Silver Millennium…both of life and death. She had vividly remembered another life in which she'd fallen for the smoothly charming Terran astrologer, their clandestine romance all the more tempting because it had been forbidden. She'd also recalled the draining of her life's energy at his hands on the eve of the fall of the Moon Kingdom. She'd welcomed him in with open arms expecting love, but found cunning cloaked death.

By the time she'd even realized what he was doing, his foul intent, it had been too late. Lost in his embrace, she only noticed as the very last of her formidable strength ebbed away. She hadn't even had strength to voice the question, though it must have been visible in her dying eyes. "For the glory of Metallia, pretty little pet," he'd cruelly whispered in her ear before he dropped her cooling body, bearing not a single scratch, no more than a half hour before the final battle.

While the others had fought valorously, the Senshi of Protection's body had been lying crumpled on the cold marble floor of her bedchamber like a broken doll, useless to her princess, discarded when he tired of his game. It would have been less painful to her pride if he'd stabbed her outright. That humiliating knowledge of how easily he had taken her out still churned her gut when she thought about it. At least the others had the chance to go out fighting, dammit!

So finding out that the damned traitor had somehow been given a third chance at life had pissed her off so much and scared her so badly and pissed her off some more for being scared, that she'd almost given in to the urge to electrocute him on first sight.

Only the fleeting thought that it was probably what Sailor Uranus would have done had stopped her…cold. Much as she admired the other woman, there was a part of Uranus that she also feared becoming. Kami knew, she'd been with Serenity long enough to know that redemption was possible. So she'd refrained from killing him just then, much as her fingers had itched to call down the storm on his infuriatingly gorgeous head. Destroying his precious sports car (he always did have a passion for flashy transportation…once upon a time it had been half wild horses) had to suffice.

Being the good senshi she was, she'd followed dutifully reported his existence to her leader, Venus, and been stunned to receive the assignment of monitoring him. Even when she'd gone toe to toe with Minako, the evil blonde had been unswerving. He was, she insisted, Makoto's problem and her decision. The only consideration was that, whatever else, Serenity would be protected. That, Makoto had fumed, was a given. She would not fail her princess a second time.

So she'd monitored. It had given her lonely nights purpose. So convinced had she been that he was up to some evil, that she'd all but stuck an ankle bracelet on him, she'd followed so closely. Aside from a talent for finessing a soufflé to fluffy new heights of glory, subtlety never _had_ been her strong point. But when he'd realized that he'd somehow acquired an auburn-headed shadow and asked her point blank what she wanted, she'd been momentarily at a loss, flustered and embarrassed. He'd made a sly crack about her wanting to take out his replacement vehicle too and she'd almost shrieked at him like a fishwife. But then inspiration had struck and she'd given him the only answer that might have possibly explained her watchful presence in his life. She'd asked him out.

Somewhat to her surprise, he'd accepted, his dark espresso eyes warming to molten chocolate as he flashed her one of those lazy heartbreaker grins that always had and still made butterflies swarm in her stomach. And with that it had begun, Kami-sama preserve her.

For several months they'd been dating exclusively and she'd been spying on him for any hint that he had an evil agenda.

She'd found nothing. Not one damned thing that indicated he even knew that he'd had past lives as both a Guardian of Terra and as a warrior for evil. He was kind, even when she taunted him. He was generous when she gave him little. He was patient and understanding when she kept him dancing him to her tune. He helped little old grandmothers across Tokyo's treacherous streets, for kami's sake. He'd even been a perfect gentleman with her…well, nearly, and no worse than any other red-blooded male. Which left her in quite a quandary, because although he appeared quite benign, except for being too damned good looking for her own good, understandably she still didn't trust him. Some acts, even if forgotten by the perpetrator, were too hard to simply forgive or forget…though kami knew she wanted to in moments late at night when she was forced to be honest with herself.

A thousand times she'd assured Minako and herself that she despised him and wasn't stupid enough to actually trust him, but merely doing her job. A thousand times she'd lied to them both. She had a sinking suspicion that Minako, no dumb blonde, knew it too. That she wanted to hate him was closer to the truth.

She'd always been too susceptible to dark hair and winning smiles. In fact, learning of their past had explained a lot about her sempai fixation in this lifetime. She'd merely misplaced her affections onto a rather oblivious classmate.

Dropping to the chill floor by his feet, Jupiter wrapped her arms around her knees and rocked back and forth. Tears burned her eyes before trickling down her cheeks in salty rivulets. He knew, by Zeus! Now what was she to do?

It had been so stupid, really. She'd been restless, distracting herself by tidying up his apartment while he stepped downstairs to the gallery for a moment prior to their date. As she dusted (the man who could once spot the faintest of stars even on cloudy nights, even those outside his own galaxy, was apparently constitutionally incapable of seeing dust bunnies, even when they reached the size and mass of small house pets) the television had been on and she'd been half listening to the senshi retrospective on a news magazine show. At least a good two-thirds of the so-called in depth reporting on her sisters at arms and their adventures had been complete bilge. Really, who honestly believed that sweet little Mercury was a closet dominatrix? That golden Venus had a secret life as a goth? Who came up with that garbage? Who listened to it? And what stories had they made up about her?

While bending down to pick up a stray astronomy book (yet another passion of his that had never changed), he'd returned without warning and she'd heard the ragged sound of a shocked indrawn breath.

"Nani? Sailor…Jupiter?"

With a sick sense of foreboding Makoto had slowly turned her head to see her own face reflected on the television screen, the be-fukued still image of her with a familiar red-brown ponytail flopped forward on one shoulder in a static mimicry of her pose while cleaning. Feeling stuck in slow motion she'd turned back to face him and seen the light of comprehension dawning in those dark brown velvet eyes. He'd never been particularly slow on the uptake.

That was when she'd witlessly flung the lightning bolt at his head, dropping him. And so she was here now.

As from the outset, it really would be simplest and safest to kill him. The only sensible choice, really.

But how could she destroy a vibrant life which was fighting so hard to be? That had defied death's maw at least three times already? The thought made her heart ache in her chest.

Damp verdigris eyes flickered to the small framed portrait of a woman vacationer, backed by the Roman Coliseum, holding a sturdy russet-haired toddler in one hand and a bottle of Italian vino in the other as she laughed into the camera. The water-stained photo had been among the very few items recovered from the crash that had claimed her parents' lives and those of more than a hundred and fifty other souls, though she'd also been rescued from the churning sea, floating numbly on a seat cushion island. Either Zeus had protected his own or it was fate, which clearly had had other plans for her, stepping in.

"Mama," whispered Jupiter wretchedly, still rocking. Now she was beyond tears. She was drowning without water, praying for an answer or sweet oblivion. "What do I do?"

The laughing, green-eyed woman remained infuriatingly silent.

She fingered the buttons on her communicator. One single touch and he would be gone. Venus would understand. Uranus and Neptune would see to it, she knew. Mars would probably even help. There would be no blood on _her_ hands. He would just be terminated with extreme prejudice and the pain and beauty of seeing him would be out of her life forever, along with the threat he represented. But what would be left?

The void.

The thought of the empty years ahead, stretching century on century, without him made her shudder at their barrenness. No! She could do without him. He was nothing to her…

_Liar! _

It was a question of trust, she realized, and she was standing on a precipice. Her decision of which way to jump would decide both their fates. Even if she could leave him out of it, which she couldn't, could she really live in a world where she couldn't trust in others? That would be a world without hope. Hope walled up, trapped in Pandora's Box while the evil things overran the world. She shivered again. That was unthinkable.

Without being quite aware of what she was doing, she reached for his hand, weaving her fingers with his and leaning her head against his knee as she tried to banish the hideous mental image with his presence. The comforting, tingling warmth of his flesh on hers brought her up short. Sweet Sol! What was she doing?!

Oh hell! Somehow, in spite of everything she'd done to protect her heart, in spite of the barriers she'd erected, in spite of knowing what he'd done and who he was…in spite of it all, she'd fallen in love with him anyway.

And Zeus strike her, she couldn't be sorry about it. The laughing green eyes of her mother seemed full of compassion now, and understanding…and joy.

She burst into tears again, but this time they didn't burn. They healed, cleansed, washing away the bitterness and pain of past betrayal.

He moaned softly, a precursor to regaining consciousness and she gasped, leaping to her feet. Clawing at his bonds, she cursed when they eluded her, biting her lip until it bled. Finally the ropes dropped to the tiles at his feet and she tugged the blindfold off, stroking his cheek and hair and rubbing remorsefully at the chafed skin of his wrists. Finally she drew his hands to her lips, pressing a kiss to his knuckles as she knelt before him.

"Oh kami, wake up Nephrite…Masato!" she muttered feverishly, feeling a sharp crack and release in her chest like the breaking of a bond round her heart as a pair of dark eyes opened and looked around in confusion, "Gods! I'm so sorry, darling. Forgive me…"

And on a movie set halfway across Japan, a blonde screen goddess on the set of her latest picture felt the sudden freedom of a formerly bound heart in her sphere of influence and smiled.

The decision had been made. And it was good.

(Just a little Valentines Day present for The Puppeteer in response to the challenge I was given. It's definitely AU to the main body of my drabbles, but I hope it's enjoyed all the same.)


	25. Happiness Is

_Happiness is a warm hubby_

As they so often did on their days off duty, Makoto and Nephrite had slipped off to spend some private time together in the thickly forested area that Neo-Queen Serenity, knowing how her guardian felt about both plants and privacy, had so graciously dubbed Jupiter's Woods and set aside for that Senshi and her beloved.

Makoto sighed blissfully, tucking the champagne flutes back in the wicker picnic basket. She loved these days, for in contrast to the hectic life at court, it was so peaceful here. And it went without saying that she loved spending time alone with Nephrite. They could both let their hair down sit under the oaks and evergreens and talk (or not) and be themselves without any prying eyes or hearing ears. She could have happily stayed there forever. It was her idea of heaven.

As soon as the tiny chore of packing up the breakables had been completed, Makoto resumed the infinitely more pleasurable task of stroking Nephrite's long mahogany hair, as he was resting his head in her lap, lying full and content and a bit sleepy after her gourmet picnic luncheon.

Out of the blue he commented, "I've always wondered something, Makoto. Why is it that you and Ami-san don't have guardians? Serenity-sama's always had Luna. Minako-san's got Artemis and Rei-san's got both Phobos _and_ Deimos. What happened to yours?

The inquiry drew a gusty sigh from his wife, making Nephrite tense. He knew she had, in her life, been wounded deeply and carried scars that ran deep, and he'd known her long enough to know that particular sigh wasn't a good sign. She sounded like that whenever he asked her about her parents. She'd also stopped stroking his hair.

Her voice scarcely more than a whisper, Makoto replied. "Well, I don't know about Ami, but I had one…a pretty little red squirrel. Her name was Io."

Makoto ducked and turned away, hiding her face behind the fall of her hair. "It was so tragic. We were out one day…there was a car and…" She broke off, her shoulders shuddering as she sniffled and lifted her hands to her face.

Horrified, Nephrite jerked upright, enfolding his wife in a protective bear hug. "I'm sorry, love. I didn't mean to upset you. Don't cry, honey, please…" He snatched up one of the linen napkins she hadn't yet repacked and reached to dry her tears…

…which weren't there.

Nephrite's mouth dropped open as he caught a glimpse of the sly smirk playing about Makoto's lips. Her emerald eyes twinkled wickedly beneath her lowered lashes, full of mirth. The shoulder shaking was from the force of effort she was expending not to laugh out loud.

"Gotcha," she crowed, snickering slightly behind her hand at the success of her small prank.

"Why you little minx!" he bellowed.

"Gomen nasai," giggled the thunder senshi, acting much more like a schoolgirl than a seasoned warrior, "but I couldn't help myself." She patted his cheek tenderly. "If it's any consolation, darling, you responded just right. My hero."

Disgusted with himself at being so taken in, he couldn't help sulking a bit at the trick. "I was serious, Makoto. And I was worried about you."

Sobering just a tiny bit, she grabbed his hands, although he tried to pull away. She persisted, trying to control the urge to smile. He was absolutely adorable, though, when he pouted like a little boy, his lower lip jutting out pugnaciously, and she was hard pressed not to smile at that.

"I know. I know. So don't be mad and I'll tell you the truth. I really don't know why Ami hasn't got one. I've never asked her. But I do have a guardian…of sorts." She grinned winningly at him and he tried to remember why he was put out with her. It was hard when she was looking at him with those deceptively angelic evergreen eyes.

"You know I've always loved plants and how they seem to grow for me no matter what. Well, they're my guardians. They communicate…not talking like Luna or Artemis but quietly…gently. I can't really explain it. I just know what it feels like."

That was plausible, given the way he communicated with his stars, but he was in no mood to admit it. He looked at her, his jaw jutting out stubbornly like a bulldog. "Yeah. Right. You expect me to believe that crock of…" He went silent as she pressed her fingertips to his lips.

"Shhh. No language like that in front of my guardians, sweetheart," she murmured almost reverently, calling his attention to the lush green woods around them.

Nephrite huffed in a breath when she suddenly leaned up against him, pillowing her head against his shoulder and batting her long dark eyelashes outrageously. The heady floral scent of her perfume drifted up from her soft curls, beguiling him as she cooed, "You were so sweet and kind, trying to help me deal with my…grief."

"I'll show you grief, you little vixen," growled Nephrite, pouncing on his wife, rolling her off the blanket and into the grass. She let out a squeal and shifted her weight, rolling them both over until she was on top, but that lasted just a moment. Again and again they rolled over and over until he finally pinned his laughing spouse firmly beneath him, lowering his head to show her just exactly how Shitennou dealt with provocative little teasing Senshi.

And as they kissed, lying within their soft, cool bed of sweet clover, the surrounding trees spread their protective, sheltering branches wide, tiny wildflowers blossomed their brightest, and tender ferns uncurled their fronds to the light, each with its own soft song of approval telling their ward that, however credulous he might occasionally be, she had found the mate destined for her.

(Author's note: Nobody kill me...the reason I haven't updated this in a while is because I've been working on Lock & Key, but I _have_ started working on the next story in the overall arc of these drabbles and it shouldn't be too long before it's posted. I know this one is pure mush, but it was sooo sweet and I'd had it holding for a while after a picture of the wooded area around Crystal Tokyo at CU's return home sparked the idea.)


	26. Justice

"…they asked me to break it to you because they couldn't figure out how to tell you."

"I see." His voice was cold and measured, as if his whole foundation hadn't been rocked by the news. "Domo arigato, Haruka. Send them in, please."

"Hai."

He waited, hands clasped behind his back as the three young women filed into the room to stand before him, their eyes wide and lovely faces pale as a bouquet of paperwhites but nonetheless composed. Hidden behind the outward masks of calm, though, stomachs churned sickeningly.

He forced himself to be civil, to keep his face impassive and ask only the most important questions. "Is what Haruka-san tells me correct?"

They could not answer, not entirely sure of what he had been told, but the tallest of them abruptly flushed a dull red and stared at her shoes intently.

"Have the Shitennou returned?"

They glanced guiltily amongst themselves and chewed nervously on their lips. Finally the one with the midnight dark hair stepped forward to speak, though her voice wavered faintly with the strain. Her eyes, however, burned bright as she answered. "They have."

"Bring them to me." It was a royal command that was not to be denied. "All of them."

"Hai," they replied, hearts quailing.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The air was heavy with a suffocating sense of foreboding as they sat and waited in grim silence. Hot tears had already been shed privately and fears exchanged. Everyone, however, knew to what duties they were bound. There could be no running, no avoidance and no solace.

The rattle of the doorknob made everyone in the room jerk like puppets on strings, eyes darting toward the door. The men, four in all, caught a flash of incredibly familiar intense marine blue eyes and tousled midnight hair and that single glance had them, to a man, dropping to their knees, heads bowed, humbled before their reborn lord.

Under any other circumstances, Makoto would have laughed at seeing the four men in casual jeans, sweatshirts and sneakers on bended knee in an attitude of complete and utter formal obeisance. However she found nothing whatsoever humorous today. None of them did.

If they had been pale before, the women's faces were now completely ashen. Mamoru, however, could not even see them for his entire attention was focused on the four men kneeling respectfully at his feet. They were heartbreakingly familiar.

Kunzite. All formidable silver and sleekness and stoicism. But for his slightly ragged breathing, he gave no outward sign of his internal turmoil. His head was bowed lowest of all.

Zoisite. Strangely but attractively androgynous and whipcord lean, with a mind as quick and dangerous as any ever known on Terra.

Nephrite. The dark one. The seer. Possessed of both a temper and a talent to rival a certain senshi of fire, though his heart had once sought another.

Jadeite. Tuxedo Kamen's first true opponent. A dichotomy. Golden laughter and lethal intensity. Light and shadow. Capable of greatest good and greatest evil.

They all were.

Mamoru's eyes darkened almost to black and his hands bunched in fists at his sides. "Why are you alive?" he demanded hoarsely.

"We…do not know the answer to that, your majesty," answered Kunzite, somehow managing to duck his head still further, feeling he had no right to look upon the liege he had betrayed, "but only that we are."

"You betrayed your vows to me and to Terra itself, committing treason. You let…no, aided that evil witch and demon in destroying an innocent kingdom…the other planets in an unjust war! You murdered the senshi, interplanetary royalty, in cold blood! They who loved you best!" They were not questions but accusations.

The Shitennou visibly recoiled, assailed by inexpressible guilt. Their master had spoken nothing more than the truth and everyone present knew it.

"We did, Prince Endymion-sama," agreed Kunzite, again speaking for all. "Please know, however, that we deplore ourselves for our failures. Though we cannot purge or deny our sins, we do regret them. Deeply."

The dark prince's slit-eyed gaze flickered toward each of the young women in turn. "To your princess," he finally ordered them icily. He was not their monarch, however, and they turned for confirmation as one to the tiny, gentle-eyed woman who stood in the doorway. When she nodded, they went, Ami and Makoto flanking her on either side while Rei stood before her, a wall of perfumed and devoted protection.

"My lord," Nephrite, head still bowed, began nervously. He was cut off in an instant.

"Be silent!" thundered Mamoru in ringing, stentorian tones. He looked capable of cutting the brunette king down in a trice. Makoto's anxious gasp was loud in the room. Her heart bleeding for her friend, Usagi's comfortingly warm hand stole into Makoto's grasp, squeezing softly.

"You four constitute a threat to all of us. You have confessed your guilt and the rightful penalty for those actions is death."

The words cut through the room like knives, slashing brutally.

Rei staggered as if she'd taken a body blow, while Ami let out a soft cry and buried her face in Usagi's shoulder, sobbing brokenly. A sickened Makoto wrapped an arm around her queasy middle while she clapped her other hand over her mouth. Her face had gone from white to being tinged a delicate pea green color.

Coldly, Mamoru peered down at his Shitennou. "Have you anything to say for yourselves?"

Nephrite looked up as he again spoke, but this time he was not tentative, though his voice was raspy with barely contained, anguished emotion. "We are thrice condemned, my prince, as you have said. I can only ask that you not take your justifiable anger toward us out on the senshi, because they are wholly innocent."

"Hai. Do as you will with us, majesty," Jadeite agreed, his normally laughing face now weighed down by a mask of anguished contrition and self-loathing. He continued, his voice heavy with regret, "It is your right. But know that they had no part in our sins, either past or present."

"And they have never once betrayed their oaths to their princess," Zoisite said, lifting his head and smiling sadly at the odango-coiffed princess who was whispering comforting words in Ami's ear. He held up a hand, studying it as if he expected to see it irretrievably stained with blood. Indeed, in his mind's eye it was and always would be. "Their hands are clean."

The prince's laser-sharp gaze leveled on the silent, silver-haired man. "Have you nothing to say, Kunzite?"

"My brothers have said it all." He bit his lip, naked emotions warring on his usually sober face. Finally he turned his intense silver-grey gaze toward Usagi, whose eyes widened when she realized he was staring at her. "Princess," he said quietly, "I know I of all people have no right to ask anything of you, but I beg of you to tell Princess Venus one thing when I am gone. Please tell her that no matter what…for whatever it is worth and whatever she may think, I truly love her."

Shining tears filled the cerulean eyes that were so like Kunzite's beloved's and she nodded slowly. "H…hai. I will."

Content in her answer, he met his master's gaze. Mamoru could see a certain peace in the man's eyes when Kunzite next spoke. "Then judge us, my lord, and may your will be done for the good of Terra."

"So may it ever be," muttered the four Shitennou ritualistically, but with true feeling behind the formal words.

"Do you still love them so much, that your only wishes are for them?" Mamoru's eyes were still glued to Kunzite's face, but the question was directed at the others.

"I love her with all my heart," breathed Jadeite, his blue-green gaze sliding to lock with Rei's burning violet one.

"With all my soul," Nephrite grated out, twisting his fingers helplessly in the rug as he heard a choked sob from Makoto.

"With every breath in my body," Zoisite concurred, bottle green eyes dampening as he witnessed the anguish of his weeping water nymph.

"Who could not love such women?" The rhetorical question came, unexpectedly, from Kunzite. "Even when everything and everyone says not to."

Mamoru's severe and forbidding expressing slowly softened as he turned toward Usagi, who slipped over to stand beside him, whispering urgently in his ear.

"I think, then, old comrades," the ebony-haired man said, "you finally begin to understand."

A brilliant golden glow burst forth from Mamoru, followed by an answering silver light from Usagi. The sheer luminescence of the pair was blinding and everyone was forced to turn his eyes away. When the glow finally faded away it revealed Endymion in his princely armor, Princess Serenity by his side, her crescent moon sigil blazing.

He strode forward, unsheathing his sword and the Shitennou again bowed their heads, closing their eyes, tensed and waiting for the blows as the prince raised his blade above a blond head. Rei swayed unsteadily on her feet, her breath bursting forth in a breathy little sigh as she slumped forward. Only a lightning fast movement on Makoto's part kept the fire senshi from hitting the floor.

When the flat of the blade rather that the edge came to rest on Kunzite's shoulder with a soft thud, the normally stoic warrior blinked in obvious confusion and risked a glance upward. "My lord?"

"Rise, Shitennou, and take up your oaths once more. Prove your mettle by again becoming the protectors of Terra."

Seeing the warm familiar smile that spread across Endymion's face as he sheathed his sword was like watching the sun come up over the sea…a glorious sight. "Terra needs you," said the prince. "And, I think," he said gesturing to the tear-stained senshi, "so do they…"

Jadeite was the first across the room, snatching his dazed Firebird from Makoto's arms and kissing her passionately until she regained full consciousness, twining her fingers heatedly in his golden curls as they embraced.

Zoisite was there almost as fast, sweeping Ami into his arms and raining kisses on her salty, tear-streaked face.

Makoto stood frozen for a moment, her mind spinning as she tried to process the fact that they had been reprieved. "Arigato," she murmured, perhaps to Endymion, but also to all the deities that might have been present, especially Selene. Then her gaze locked with a sapphire one that looked on her with such tenderness she felt her heart might just burst. She let out a giddy cry, flinging herself into Nephrite's arms with such force she knocked them both to the ground. When their lips met, he found he didn't mind her initial slowness a bit.

A beaming, teary-eyed Serenity pressed a kiss to Endymion's cheek only to squeal as he bent her backward and kissed her passionately. The gleam of silver and gold engulfed the pair as they reverted back to Mamoru and Usagi, still lip-locked.

Kunzite knelt alone, feeling a bit dizzy and strange, as if he'd been taken apart, juggled, and then put together again not quite in the same order as before. It was only when Mamoru reached down to offer him a hand up, that he finally rose. Mamoru smiled, clapping him on the back and suddenly Kunzite could see Endymion in the man before him. "Welcome back, old friend."

"Endymion!" The taciturn silver-haired man abruptly broke with protocol and engulfed his lord in an embrace that nearly cracked Mamoru's ribs and wept unashamedly.

Much later that day, after all the Shitennou had, at their own insistence, formally reprised their vows of allegiance to Terra and Endymion, the group of nine sat around Mamoru's apartment sharing the shiso, mushroom and nori pizzas that Makoto whipped up in his kitchen, needing to do something constructive after the emotionally wrenching morning. The others, needing sustenance, eagerly dug into the gooey pies.

"So why _wasn't_ Mina-chan at this little get-together?" asked Mamoru.

Ami choked on her soda, sputtering and coughing as the fizzy drink threatened to come out her nose.

At the mention of the absent woman's name, Kunzite visibly seemed to shrink, hunching in on himself and holding his head. Claiming a headache, he quietly excused himself from the room, retreating to the balcony where he stared out blindly at the Tokyo skyline. Bewildered, Mamoru looked around at his other Shitennou, whose faces were screwed up in various expressions of pained sympathy for the silver-haired man's plight.

"Was it something I said?"

"Mamoru no baka," Rei muttered under her breath, swatting him repeatedly on the shoulder until Jadeite bodily hauled her away before she could permanently damage their prince's sword arm. Usagi smacked her forehead, once again forcefully reminded that while her fiancé was a good and loving man, he was most sorely lacking in emotional intelligence at times.

Finally a blushing Makoto muttered, "Um…yeah. About that…"

(Author's note: Heh…now the Senshi and Shitennou can really get down to the business of meddling. They have royal approval. And you know Usagi will move mountains to help in the cause.)


	27. Talking Turkey

"Minako…deeeear…"

The sound of her mother's voice calling her name made Aino Minako scowl, twisting her lovely features into something that was still lovely but unpleasant, like catching a whiff of mildew in a well-appointed room.

'I told her I wanted to be left alone! Mothers!'

Heaving herself up from her vanity seat, which tipped over at her motion, Minako had one thought in mind. Find out what that woman wanted and handle it so that she could be left alone again. Her actions, though, were not as quick as her parent's. The bedroom door swung inward and a richly dressed woman of middle age poked her head in, clucking her tongue as she caught a glimpse of the disordered room. Clothes of every possible type were piled on every surface and strewn across the floor in a riotous display of paisleys, prints, and fantastic color.

"Tsk…I don't know how you can stand this mess, Minako." Her mother paused, gazing in dismay at the room. It was much, much worse than usual, as if Minako had been truly wallowing in it instead of living there. Even the cat hadn't wanted to stay in there. It was worrisome. And the girl had been brooding again. "If I were you…"

"What did you want, mother?" Minako cut in stonily. Once her mother got on a roll about Minako's disappointments to her family it was sometimes hard to get her stopped and Minako was in no mood for it. Not these days.

Her mother frowned at her as if she was considering giving her Standard Lecture 247 on cleanliness and maternal respect again, but decided to forgo it. It had never made much of an impact before.

"That lovely Rei-san is here to see you, Minako dear. I'm glad because you've been so…"

She broke off as a sound behind her in the short hallway alerted her to the presence behind her. "Be welcoming, Minako," her mother hissed under her breath, abandoning her daughter to the unwelcome visitor. Minako could practically hear the unspoken, 'The Hino's are a respected and distinguished old family. Don't you dare insult one of them.' So as her mother departed, Minako was left face to face with one of the very people she'd been trying to avoid.

"Konnichiwa," she mumbled through a clenched jaw.

"Konnichiwa," Rei grumbled back, brushing past Minako without a backward glance. She took in the familiar chaotic state of the room and rolled her eyes, shoving a pile of skirts and sweaters off of the nearest chair to clear a space for herself. It was not the first time she'd done such a thing.

"Well make yourself right at home," sniffed Minako testily. Rei smirked, readjusting her perch on the chair so that her scarlet and white chihaya robes would be less crushed.

"I wouldn't have had to invade your home, Minako deeeear," –Rei intentionally mimicked the annoying cadence of Minako's mother–, "If you'd have talked to me over the phone or met me at the Crown."

"I didn't want to see you," announced Minako bluntly. "I even told my parents as much."

"I know," A sly smile flitted across Rei's face and she looked very pleased with herself and not the slightest bit offended by Minako's rudeness. "And since you were too chicken to face me, that's why I came. I told your mother I was here to ask you to help us at the shrine. She was quite willing to volunteer your miko services when I mentioned my father was likely to stop by."

"But your father never stops by!" blurted out Minako, shocked at her friend's cleverness. Her mother, who had certain aspirations for her station in life to rise, would have leapt at the possibility of a member of her family meeting and possibly charming the socially prominent and well-connected but elusive politician, Hino Masahiro. In fact, Minako's making friends with the man's only daughter had been one of the few times that Minako had done something that had made her social-climbing mother completely happy.

"You and I know that," Rei agreed pertly, tucking a strand of hair behind one ear, "but she didn't."

"Why you conniving little…"

"Here!" Rei said, ignoring Minako's outraged outburst as if she'd never noticed. She shoved a paper wrapped packet into her friend's hands. A delicious spicy and doughy scent wafted upward, tickling Minako's olfactory senses.

"What's this?"

"Your share," Rei commented, readjusting her perch on the chair so that her scarlet and white robes would be less crushed. "Mako-chan's karē-pan," she elaborated when Minako heaved an aggravated sigh at the flippant answer. The sigh turned into a hard swallow as Minako tried not to drool on cue like Pavlov's dogs. She loved curry and the curry-filled, deep fried bread balls that her friend made were much favored treats. Not able to resist, Minako ripped into the packet revealing the savory rolls in all their golden-brown glory. They were even still warm.

"I had to give some of them away or we'd all be drowning in a sea of buns, even with Usagi helping out." Rei continued. "Mako-chan's been a little upset these days and you know that when she's upset, she cooks up a storm."

The raven-haired young woman's smoked amethyst eyes narrowed dangerously. "Now I wonder who could have upset her, hmmm…"

To spare herself from answering, Minako stuffed one of fat buns into her mouth whole. For the first time ever, though, the spicy snack was tasteless, dry as dust in her mouth. She chewed mechanically, wondering if by chance it would catch on the enormous lump in her throat and choke her to death so she wouldn't have to endure this particular conversation with Rei.

"You know," Rei said a bit too casually. "It seems one of Mako-chan's best friends dropped her flat. Wouldn't even speak to her. The poor thing's been so upset lately that she's actually been getting physically nauseous…"

Minako nearly spat out the bun. Swallowing hard instead, she forced down the bite and growled, "Maybe instead of wasting her time making these dried out things, she should take a pregnancy test. There's every possibility she's knocked up, the traitor, since she's been screwing the enemy!"

A second later, Minako found herself lying sprawled out on the floor, holding her burning cheek. A red-faced Rei loomed over her like one of the mythical furies, violet eyes blazing. "That was completely beneath contempt, Aino Minako! How dare you say such a thing about Mako-chan?!"

Sullenly, Minako refused to answer, looking anywhere but at the accusing gaze of the fiery miko. She kicked out at the bedpost, hissing as she stubbed her toe.

Rei ranted on, not missing a beat. "And before you blame her for anything ELSE that's not her fault, you should know that Mako-chan doesn't even know I'm here, OR that I know what vicious, hateful things you said when you were at her apartment! Haruka-san told me! If you ask me, you should be grateful that Haruka-san didn't kick your butt straight back to the moon for some of the vile spew you came out with!"

Sick silence hung heavy in the air for such an extended moment that Minako dared to glance upward.

It was a mistake.

The second her gaze met Rei's, the other woman locked eyes with her and would not look away. Minako found herself trapped in the intense gaze, hypnotized, like a mouse before a serpent.

The miko stuck a finger in Minako's face, wagging it furiously. "I never knew that a self-professed 'Goddess of Love' could begrudge anyone a little love in their lives. Especially when someone needed it as much as Mako-chan."

The shaky veneer of calm that Minako had been mustering around her home as she brooded alone, splintered under the accusation. Angrily she hurled a sandal and a tennis shoe at Rei's head, cursing the ultra-quick senshi reflexes that allowed her to dodge the sporty missiles. The footwear smacked into the wall, leaving black scuff marks on the sunny, daisy print wallpaper.

"Nice, Minako-chan. Real nice." The raven-haired spitfire's lip curled. "I don't suppose that it ever occurred to you that Mako-chan needed someone in her life way more than the rest of us. You," she managed to make the word sound incredibly selfish, "have both your parents who love you, as does Usagi-chan."

Minako snorted disgustedly. Yeah, she had her mother. Some prize that.

"My father is MIA, but at least I have my Ojiichan. And even though Ami-chan's parents are divorced, she knows they both love her and she's got her mom. You and Usagi and I even have guardian animals when we need to talk about senshi things."

Rei glowered down at Minako's blonde head. "Who did Mako-chan have, hmmm? Nobody. That's who. Nobody to care if she was sick or well or to make sure she ate right and did her homework. Nobody to come home to after a horrendous day or to worry over the mystery bruises she got after battles. No one even to mourn her if she ended up dead."

With immense grace, Rei managed somehow to lower herself to the cluttered floor in one smooth motion. She sat beside Minako like a wise Buddha, cross-legged, tucking her hands inside her bell-shaped sleeves. "Did any of that ever cross your mind when you were calling her names for trying to grab with both hands onto the little bit of happiness that had suddenly happened back into her life?"

Sudden tears sprouted at the corners of Minako's eyes, stinging like nettles. The guilty knowledge that Rei was right galled her. "Why didn't she just get a damned puppy if she wanted someone to love? Why did she have to choose that kami-cursed traitor?"

"Why does anyone's heart go to anyone? All I know is that he completes her somehow. And she him. And he's been the _only_ shred of happiness she's had since you broke into her home the other night and started ripping her to shreds. He makes her smile, while you, who were supposed to be one of her dearest old friends, made her cry."

"He killed her! Destroyed the Silver Millennium! How can she just forgive that, Rei?! Forget that? Tell me how!"

"Mako-chan's big hearted. I know she hasn't forgotten. I don't think she ever could. And as for forgiveness, I can't fully answer that Minako…but then it's YOU who can't forgive. And I'm pretty sure your nasty little tirade had a whole hell of a lot less to do with the dark haired man in Mako-chan's past and present lives…"

"Bed!" interjected Minako petulantly, drawing a disgusted look from Rei.

"…lives, than the silver-haired one who ISN'T in yours at the moment."

"I HATE THAT MAN!" bellowed Minako defiantly, clearly not referring to Nephrite, as the tears spilled down her cheeks, hot and burning. She buried her face in her hands, sobbing.

"Do you?" A crisp white linen handkerchief was pressed into Minako's hand. Rei decided not to further push Minako, who was teetering on the emotional edge, as to the truth or falsity of that statement, though she harbored her own opinions on the subject. "Well you'd better figure out how to deal with him, because Mamoru-kun reinstated the Shitennou. All four of them."

"He WHAT?!" Minako's eyes shot wide open, staring at Rei in horror as she croaked, "He couldn't!"

"He did. And what's more, you'd better learn to deal with seeing Jadeite too," Rei's smile took on a certain feline quality, like a cat well-sated with cream, "because I guarantee he's going to be around a lot. Zoisite too, since he declared his love for Ami-chan."

"That bastard!" Minako sniffled moistly, the handkerchief in her hands forgotten but for the horrendous twisting she was giving it. Again, it was clear she was really referring to another.

"Look, Minako-chan," Rei hugged the soggy mess of a blonde. "He's not evil now. None of them are. That was Metallia's influence and we all saw what it did to Mamoru back when. What he did to Usagi and she still loves him. Can you truly blame…" –Rei paused to consider her next word carefully– "…him for what that demon did?"

When Minako twisted the handkerchief until her knuckles went white, Rei heaved a sigh. "Nobody says you have to love him or forgive him or even be anything more than marginally civil to him. Hell, maybe not even that. You don't even have to see him outside of senshi meet…er, senshi-shitennou meetings."

"But what you DO have to do is swallow your pride and go apologize to Mako-chan…on your knees if you have to. Because she is your friend, who has rarely been anything but kind and sweet and loving to you, and you hurt her for no good reason. Do you hear me?"

"Hai," whispered Minako weakly, chewing on her lower lip to the point of drawing blood. Tears still pattered down her cheeks, wilting Rei's hakama and smearing Minako's makeup beyond all repair. "I'll go tomorrow and tell her I'm sorry, Rei-chan."

Rei leaned in until her forehead bumped up against Minako's, their long blonde and brunette locks flowing together. "Look on the bright side, Minako-chan. If he breaks her heart again, you can tell her I told you so."

"I don't want him to break her heart," muttered Minako. "I really don't. I'm not really a spiteful bitch, even if I acted like one. You were right about her deserving to be happy. I _want_ her to be happy."

"Good," Rei replied a gentle smile warming and softening the planes of her face. "Because if what I saw in the sacred fire is correct we'll probably be dancing at their wedding one of these years. If not, I'd hate to have to tell the fire kami they screwed up a prediction. They _hate_ that."

"Eh…A wedding? But…"

"Now don't go all chicken spit on me Minako-chan again, and don't borrow trouble," laughed Rei, rising and hauling Minako to her feet.

"Now, emotional scenes like these always make me hungry and the state of this room is making me sick. So I'll help you clean things up, including getting those wallpaper scuffs off so that your mother won't have anything to ride you about, and then we can eat an early dinner at my home. And while we work, how about sharing some of that karē-pan? It's poultry flavored, no?"

Finally smiling, Minako picked up one of the fried rolls, offering it willingly. "It's chicken."

Rei chuckled, taking the proffered bun, then picked up another, handing it to Minako. "My favorite…"


	28. In The Good Old Summertime

"Don't worry Bunny," Mina said soothingly to the teary-eyed, baby-faced blonde before her. "Leets will be here any minute with that lotion for you, and I've got plenty of cotton balls from my makeup bag. We'll fix you up right. I promise you, the rash won't even show by Friday's dance…which reminds me. I've got to talk to Keegan before then and ask him to go with me..."

Mina paused and her eyes went vacant, causing her to look, for the moment, like every possible stereotype of the gorgeous but dizzy blonde, though everyone knew she was far from it. Dizzy, that was. Because Mina, with her warm tan, honey toned hair and azure eyes, was truly, naturally stunning. Though she knew it, she never rubbed it in, and her sweet nature and bubbly sense of humor had made her a favorite with most of the girls in camp. She was also gleefully conniving, intent on hooking up with the intense, grey eyed older boy who'd caught her interest. Bunny almost felt sorry for Keegan, he was so doomed.

Abruptly Mina resumed the thread of her conversation as if she'd never left it. "But what I don't understand is how you got into the poison ivy in the first place. There's only one single patch of the stuff in the whole camp and it's even roped off."

"Because she's an idiot and a klutz, that's how," interjected an acidic voice. "She's the only person I know who could fall over her own hair."

"I just tripped," whined a blotchy, miserable Bunny, holding her arms out at her sides so as not to spread around the itchy ailment to her fellow tent-mates. "Darien called me over to ask if I was doing any better with my canoeing, and when I ran over to tell him how I'd managed to get in without tipping it even once yesterday, I tripped over my shoelace, which had come untied, and fell headlong into the stuff."

"Oh…"

"I got the calamine lotion from the nurse," called a pony-tailed brunette who bounced through the flaps into the tent, a decidedly energetic spring in her step. "Do you need some help applying that, Bunny?"

"Thanks Lita," sniffled the patient pitifully. "But I think I can handle it."

"Ooooh…it's the resident charity case tomboy. You must have to do all the nursing AND errand running to pay for your keep. Probably do windows too. Good preparation for your future as a domestic servant. Tell me, has that cute Nate gotten sick of you drooling all over him yet?" The speaker tucked a strand of carroty red hair behind her ear and mimed a gag reflex.

"Shut up Beryl!" Mina growled as she watched the tall, chestnut-haired girl slouch in on herself in embarrassment.

Bunny's tears dried up as she turned and winked at Lita, who had blushed to the roots of her hair when the viperous redhead's words struck home. "Don't mind her, Leets. She's just jealous because she overheard Nate ask you to meet him at the camp dance, but when she tried to ask Dare the same thing, he told her he couldn't because he'd already asked me." She began humming a slightly off key rendition of 'Kiss the Girl.'

Beryl glared at the silver-toned blonde and muttered something under her breath, picking at her nails. She'd begun the Camp Luna Plata session with blood-red, dragon lady nails that Mina, the resident authority on all things beauty related, had whispered were far too long to be real. They were still hemoglobin red, repainted practically every night, but they now bore the marks of the rigors of camp. Two thirds had snapped off short, drawing a curse from the teen every time…and giggles from the others.

"And Nate is a cutie," added Bunny with another wink, accepting the pink bottle from Lita, who looked a little starry-eyed at the mention of the dark haired, dark-eyed object of her crush.

"Yeah…he looks just like what I always imagined for my boyfriend," she sighed dreamily, Beryl's nastiness forgotten.

"Almost as cute as Darey-beary," cooed Bunny, shooting a challenging look at Beryl and dabbing putty-pink lotion on her arms and face. Beryl made another gagging motion.

"Yeah," Mina muttered loyally. "Anyway, she forgets that her precious Darien, who hasn't noticed she's even alive," –she shot the girl a triumphant look– "is one of the sponsored orphans too. And it doesn't matter. In any case, we'd much rather have you here, Lita, than her. You're great and nice and you even kicked her ample backside at campfire cooking during the hike, even though you'd never been in the woods before. If it had been left to her alone, we'd have all died of ptomaine poisoning."

"I wish," came the acerbic retort. "They shouldn't let low class, Fresh-Air Fund trash bunk in with their betters."

Mina stuck her tongue out at Beryl. "Some betters. Miss Cash Cow, Trust Fund, I'm-Better-Than-Everybody-Else here is just proof that money can't buy class. Her parents orphan her here all summer…by choice. They probably send her here to see if the counselors can make something of her over the summer. Maybe through Arts and Crafts. Like instead of making lanyards, making a silk purse out of a sow's butt."

"Ear, you moron! Sow's ear! What's the matter with you? You must've been dropped on your head as a baby!" screeched the vitriolic redhead, shoving her way out of the tent. She practically knocked over the petite, towel-wrapped bluenette who was on her way in, but left without apologizing, merely muttering evilly as she departed about stupid geniuses who didn't know enough to look where they were going.

"And Beryl wonders why nobody likes her," Bunny said, deadpan.

"Whoops, sorry Ames," gasped Mina, holding her stomach and laughing out loud as she eyed the dazed looking, blue-eyed girl in the swimsuit. "We forgot to sound the dragon lady alert. Sorry you got caught in the crossfire. But at least the company in the tent has improved."

"It's okay," Ami said, blinking in confusion as she unwrapped her towel, revealing her modest ice-blue tankini still damp from the chill waters of the lake. "I suppose it's nothing more than usual."

"Just Beryl being Beryl," confirmed Lita with a scrunch of her nose and a toss of her ponytail. "Soooo….did you have any luck teaching Zane how to swim today?" she inquired eagerly, cocking her head to one side. "I saw you working pretty hard when I went to the nurse for Bunny."

The damp young woman dropped onto her bunk, toweling off her arms and running a hand through her closely cropped blue-black waves. "He almost drowned and I nearly had to give him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation." She groaned. "I don't know how anyone so otherwise athletic can have so much trouble with a simple dead-man's float."

"It's because he's faking it," whispered Mina to Lita, who nearly giggled, then quickly clapped a hand over her mouth before the sound could escape.

"Really," she whispered back through her fingers. Her eyes, the color of the ferns in the nearby woods, twinkled merrily.

"Yup," Mina whispered back, for Lita's ears only. "I saw him when I was following Keegan the other night. He and his friends in the Senior Boys tent had snuck out of bounds to go swimming. That Zane swims better than a fish. He's going to kiss her yet. Mark my words. The Love Goddess knows."

"What'd you say, Mina?" asked Ami, shaking her head and picking at her ear. "I think I've still got some water in my ears."

"Nothing," chorused Mina and Lita together, grinning wickedly and looking anything but innocent.

A shriek from the far side of the tent turned all heads. "Ooooooh…he is so dead!" vowed the exotic looking, raven-haired girl at the far end, holding up something black and plastic-wrapped by its…tail?

"Ewwww!"

"What IS that?"

"Is that a rat?! Gross!"

"Worse," sniffed the girl, the black creature dropping with a boneless plop onto her sleeping bag. She wiped her fingers as if it carried the Black Death plague.

Ami, still dripping, ambled over and peered at the rodent. "It's not even alive."

Bunny let out a shocked squeal, nearly dropping a calamine-sodden cotton ball down her camp shirt's open neck. "Somebody put a dead rat in Raye's bed?! Eeeeeeeuw! That's disgusting!"

"No," Ami said with a gentle smile, picking the thing up and jiggling it. "Somebody put a gummi rat in Raye's bed. Licorice flavor, by the looks of it. I guess it's not exactly a mint on the pillow, but…"

"Oooh…look! There's a note tied around its neck with a cute little yarn bow," gushed Mina, pointing. "Who is it from? You've got a boyfriend at camp, Raye and you didn't tell us?"

"It doesn't matter." Completely red-faced, Raye snatched the candy from Ami's hand. "And I don't have a boyfriend."

"Oh, but I think it does matter," pronounced Lita, sidling close and winking conspiratorially at Mina, who grinned broadly and winked back. "It matters a lot."

Without warning, Lita struck, whisking the gummi rat from Raye's grasp and hurling it like a football toward Mina, who caught it neatly and bolted from the tent. Raye's mulberry colored eyes shot wide open and she let out a shriek, racing after the speedy blonde, who was running hell bent for leather across the nearest playing field. Their erratic zigzag path interrupted a baseball game in progress, but the sight of the outrageous blonde beauty drew a begrudging grin and a shake of the head from a silver-haired young man on the pitcher's mound anyway.

"A sweet treat for my sweetheart," quoted Mina, laughing, somehow managing to read the tag as she ran and dodged to avoid the now out-for-blood girl. "Save a kiss for me after the dance, firefly!"

"Mina, so help me, I am going to KILL you!" screamed Raye at the top of her lungs, hot in pursuit. "I SWEAR IT!"

A madly giggling Bunny, no longer red and blotchy, but quite pink and blotchy from the calamine lotion, stuck her head out of the tent, calling loudly. "WHO'S IT FROM, MINA?! TELL US!!!"

The instant before Raye tackled her into the dust, Mina began singing at the top of her lungs. "RAYE AND JACOB, SITTING IN A TREE! K-I-S-S…Ack!"

"I-N-G!" chorused the three girls from the tent as they caught sight of a certain smugly smiling blond young man, whose crystal blue eyes were twinkling mischievously as he snapped a photo of the fiery girl. Her curvy backside was displayed to its best advantage in her brief cutoff shorts, as it presented itself to the camera while she tried to wrestle the candy rat from Mina's grasp.

"I knew giving her candy would do the trick," he said to himself with no little bit of satisfaction.

"What have you done now, Jacob?" groaned his ebony-haired companion, rolling sapphire blue eyes heavenward and praying for patience. Clearly he knew exactly where to lay the blame for any trouble within the camp's environs.

The camera's shutter clicked a few more times in rapid succession and Jacob smirked, wondering just how red he could make Raye blush if she should catch sight of herself in the pictures. They might look very well for the front page of the next edition of the camp newsletter…if he could slip them past Keegan's eagle eyes.

Of course he'd be keeping the negatives for himself.

"Just capturing a few choice summer camp memories for posterity, Dare. Just making memories."

(This is AU, obviously. But fun! Summer camp hijinks.)


	29. Accidental Encounter

Some things never changed, Minako thought, watching her friend bustle perkily around her kitchen like it was eight o'clock in the morning instead of half past seven at night. It didn't matter if Makoto was cooking for a crowd at her high-tech culinary academy, or stewing fish over a rustic campfire, or simply pottering about in her own small kitchen. Makoto was always cheerier when she cooked.

And yet there was something different…

"You said you had something for me to give to Artemis?" asked Minako.

"Hai," Makoto agreed, wiping a hand on her ruffled apron. "One my neighbors, Mitsuru-san, is an older woman and a widow. Since her husband passed, her only real companion is her old cat, Kyo. Unfortunately, Kyo-neko recently developed an allergy to a fairly common preservative ingredient in canned cat food. So Mitsuru-san asked if I could come up with a recipe for cat food that didn't contain any preservatives. I've been experimenting with some success, but then it occurred to me that since I had friends with cats who could actually talk and give me real feedback…" She shrugged and smiled.

"Luna's already agreed to tell me what she thinks and Usagi-chan's picking her share up tomorrow. Do you think Artemis would mind helping me out with a taste test too?" Makoto asked hopefully and, as Minako nodded, she was suddenly struck by how radiant her friend looked.

"Of course not. He'll probably tap dance at the very prospect."

Yes, radiant was the only way to describe her, Minako thought, studying her friend as she went back to her stove, humming to herself. Radiant, as in glowing with inner happiness and total contentment from every pore. Radiant, as in the look of a woman utterly secure in being loved. That WAS new. As was, Minako's quick eyes noted, the handsome bracelet of dark green, heart-shaped jade beads that decorated Makoto's wrist.

"Gomen," Makoto chirped apologetically. "I'm sorry this wasn't done when you got here. I meant it to be, but I had to get up early to see Nephrite off on Mamoru-kun's Shitennou training trip, and then I swear, I only meant to sit down for a second, but when I woke up I discovered, to my horror, it was nearly two and a half hours I'd been napping. So I'm completely behindhand."

"That's okay," Minako murmured, though her stomach growled faintly. She wished Makoto would just give her the darned cat food so she could go and get some dinner someplace. After the all-day photo shoot, she was starving. In fact, she was so hungry she'd even have considered eating a shitake mushroom if there'd been any to eat. Well, assuming there was no other food anywhere.

Makoto's head snapped around at the sound. "There's some candy in the dish in the living room, Minako-chan. Why don't you have some to tide you over for the moment and we can go out to dinner when I'm done, my treat. I'd offer to make something, but there's just nothing in the pantry right now. I ate the last of the leftover onigiri for lunch as it was. It's just that with Nephrite around now, I have to go shopping so much more often and I simply didn't get to it today."

"Oh…that reminds me. Must get some of that pineapple Pocky he likes so well." Makoto scrawled a quick reminder note on the shopping list pad by the refrigerator, underlining the item boldly.

And that, Minako thought, really summed up the essence of the change. Uncomfortable with the affectionate ease with which the man's name rolled off her friend's tongue, Minako left the kitchen, feeling grateful that he was not present. She could not, however, escape the discomfiting sense of change. He had left his indelible stamp, even in his absence. It was all around her, from the large, grey and blue fleece man's jacket that hung casually on the door to Makoto's bedroom, to the change in bedding itself. Makoto's uber-feminine, rose print comforter had, she could see, been replaced by a crisp green and russet plaid suitable for a couple.

Turning away from the sight, Minako caught a glimpse of another more substantial change to the apartment. Amid multiple pots of flowers and ferns, a huge telescope now resided on the balcony, a testament to the presence of someone with hobbies other than Makoto's being now in residence."

"Where's that candy dish, Mako-chan?" Minako called, not spotting the thing as a faint hint of tears stung her azure eyes. All she could see was the multi-colored frenzy of cut flowers in a bowl on the low table and a well-thumbed text on astronomy.

"Oh…I forgot. I moved it. It's on the TV stand," was the answer from the kitchen. "By the photos."

"Okay." Minako forced herself to calm down, turning and searching for the small, lidded crystal box she knew Makoto used for candy. She found it just where Makoto had said it would be, atop the television cabinet…and right beside it, prominently displayed next to the prized picture of Makoto's parents, was a framed snapshot, obviously taken by an indulgent passerby at the Tokyo Arboretum, of a giggling Makoto perched precariously on the lap of a wickedly grinning Nephrite, who was tickling her.

Suddenly Minako didn't feel quite so much like having a candy. Especially when she noticed the small, suspiciously familiar slip of paper tucked reverently into the frame at the bottom.

_The past has come full circle. Love will find you soon. _

Minako moaned softly to herself at the phrase which had haunted her thoughts in recent weeks. It was that damned fortune cookie fortune again.

The buzz of the apartment intercom suddenly jolted Minako from her reverie.

"Kino residence," Makoto said, answering the intercom from the kitchen.

"Hey, sweetheart," rumbled Nephrite's voice warmly through the speaker. "Can you hit the downstairs gate for me?"

"Ooooh…" Minako writhed as she heard Makoto squeal gleefully. "You're home early, darling. I wasn't expecting you until much, much later."

"Hai," her significant other replied dryly. "Well, we had to come back because Jadeite, the baka, managed somehow to fall in the lake and half drown himself. So the whole training's been postponed 'til next week." There was a snort of derision, then he recovered himself. "Oh…have you eaten yet, love?"

"No," Makoto said, trying to stifle her chuckle at Jadeite's mishap. "I was just about to go get something."

"Don't bother then. I brought carry-out Chinese. So if you could get the gate…" he hinted again.

"Can do." Makoto laughed out loud and depressed the button to trigger the downstairs gate and allow admittance to the stairs. "See you in few minutes, honey."

The smacking sound of a kiss was the man's final response before the intercom went dead.

"I think I'd better be going," Minako said uneasily as a smiling Makoto stuck her head out from the kitchen.

"Nonsense," Makoto informed her decisively, wagging a bamboo rice paddle at her. "I really need your help now. Left to his own devices Nephrite invariably orders enough food for an army. The man does love his Chinese food." She rolled her fern colored eyes heavenward in what Minako could only assume was a familiar motion. "So I'll need your help getting around all the chow fun and moo goo gai pan and whatnot. Please stay for dinner, Minako-chan. Pleeeease…"

Unable to think of a good enough excuse to bolt, Minako nodded, resigning herself to an uncomfortable dinner in the presence of her former enemy. Makoto ducked her head back into the kitchen to finish bagging up the sample containers of cat food for Artemis, get the china and chopsticks for a family-style meal, and start a pot of jasmine tea.

The sound of thumping at the front door make Minako jump faintly.

"See," Makoto called out. "He's probably got so much stuff, he can't even reach his keys. I swear, if I have to clean another boot print off that door…" She broke off from her muttering to ask, "Would you mind getting that, Minako-chan, while I finish putting this stuff in the fridge? Arigato."

"Hai, hai," answered Minako with a resigned sigh. "I got it." She flung open the door and stepped back out of the way so the man, whose face was completely hidden behind tall brown bags of carry out, could stumble in.

What shocked Minako was that the brunette man she was expecting, toting a small cooler, some damp clothing, and a pair of bokken, entered in right on the first man's heels, calling, "Mako, honey, I hope you don't mind, but we've got some company for dinner." When he caught sight of Minako's face, his own turned pale and he gaped like a fish.

"Oh," Makoto called back happily from the kitchen. "Then it'll be a regular dinner party, because Minako-chan's already here. How fun! Our first time hosting."

Nephrite groaned softly and winced, slipping past the other two and into the kitchen for an emergency conference. A few moments later there would be a shocked exclamation from within and the sound of a teapot smashing as it dropped from numbed fingertips to the floor. Both sounds would also go completely unnoticed.

With a growing sense of doom, Minako watched as the take-out bags were lowered to reveal a mane of glorious silver-white hair surrounding a heartbreakingly familiar face which wore what Minako knew to be a highly uncharacteristic expression of shock. He looked like he'd been pole-axed. Minako dazedly thought that she knew exactly how he felt.

"Mi…Minako?"

She swallowed hard and tried, to no avail, to speak.

Piercing silver-grey eyes locked with her wide-eyed gaze, turning tender and filling with a longing expression that the avatar of Venus couldn't hope to miss. She felt a warm, pretty blush heat her cheeks at his rapt look. He'd looked at her like that before.

Finally finding her voice, Minako nodded and managed a tentative smile as she shoved a silky tendril of honey-gold hair behind her shell-like ear. An intent gaze of molten silver followed her every motion, his pupils dilating visibly as she chewed on her full lower lip while she chose her words.

"Konbanwa, Kunzite. So…what's for supper?"

"Dim sum, Minako," he answered slowly, relaxing tense muscles as he realized she wasn't going to start screaming or hurling accusations at him. "Some dim sum."

Minako felt her heart begin to pound furiously in her chest as he smiled at her and realized that she was suddenly very hungry. Her mouth was even watering and she wondered idly if there were fortune cookies in the bags. "That sounds wonderful…"

(Author's note: Chinese dim sum: Literally meaning "to touch your heart," dim sum consists of a variety of different types of dumplings. Highly recommended by this author…especially the shrimp har gow. Yummy! And yes, I'm sure that Nephrite bought fortune cookies this time too… ;)


	30. Tempest

"Did you hear that Lita? Lord Nephrite says his family's raised horses for years. They bred Vega, that magnificent beast he's riding today." Minya smiled approvingly and nudged her sulky friend's arm.

"What wonders these Terrans be," Lita growled, eying the magnificent and sleek stallion appreciatively before she flicked her gaze up to register the faint amusement and satisfaction on its rider's face. She bristled, continuing not quite sotto voce. "Truly, it's not everyday you find they've bred a horse with two backsides."

The blonde Shitennou, Jadeite, who was riding beside her choked, trying to tamp down the urge to laugh out loud. Minya giggled behind her hand.

"Lita!" Amy let out an appalled gasp as their Terran guide's sapphire eyes snapped angrily at the Jovian princess' out and out rudeness. She'd been sniping at him for a month, every time their paths crossed.

"I'm sure they're very fine horses, Amity. For Terrans." Lita sniffed disdainfully, patting Fury's proud neck. The fiery black hunter she rode nickered softly and tossed her head, seeming quite put out at the indignity of being used for what was merely a sedate trot through the pastoral riding paths around Elysion castle.

Lita was fairly indignant too. Although she'd been the one to first mention her desire for a ride, he'd just had to butt in. So her solitary ride had gone to a group amble with everyone but Serenity, Endymion, Kunzite and Raye present. Then, with a high-handedness that left her breathless, he'd even tried to prevent her from picking the horse she wanted to ride, claiming she'd never be able to handle the fierce animal. She, though, and Fury had shown the stupid man. The wild creature had, in her hands, been as gentle as a child's first pony. The horse wasn't her spirit animal for nothing.

"I also personally bred and broke the one you're riding, Princess," he informed her archly, stroking a finger down the finger down his own mount's neck. Its glorious bay color was a near match to her chestnut hair. "I have a knack with handling spirited fillies, it seems." A smirk quirked up the edges of his lips as she colored deeply at the implied insult and glared at him, then swallowed hard as his hand curled in the horse's mane and he stared at her, a challenge in his eyes.

Lita felt her back teeth grind. Everything about the wretched Terran grated on her, from his too pretty eyes to his too kissable lips to his great big, nay enormous, swaggering ego that seemed to feed on her constant embarrassment. He was simply too much...of everything, for her own good. She was sick and tired of being a source of amusement to the infuriating man. Consequently she'd been acting quite unlike her normal reasonably good humored self. Amy had actually been half wondering if she was channeling Raye, who had flatly refused to join them on the ride because she refused to spend time with Lord Jadeite huffily stating in private that she couldn't warm up to the blue-eyed Shitennou unless she were cremated by him…and in any case, that was HER specialty.

"The thing about him that exhausts me most," Lita snarled waspishly to herself as her eyes snapped with green flame, "is his constant patter of little feats. Jerk!"

Jadeite, her escort and the only one close enough to overhear that crack, chuckled low in his throat. He inclined his head toward hers, drawing a fierce look from Nephrite. "Very droll, Princess. I'll have to remember to use that one on him sometime in the future when his conceited head needs deflating."

A very slight drizzle began to fall, dampening the earth and dappling the horses' coats. Very far off, a low rumble of sound on the air made Lita display her first real smile since they'd begun. She breathed in deeply. "A thunderstorm…"

"We'd better get back to the castle before that cloudburst hits." Nephrite glanced over at Minya, whose honey-colored palomino mare danced nervously, scenting the ozone in the sultry summer air. "She gets nervous in storms. Sorry."

That got Lita's attention and she perked up, looking interested. "So we're done here, then? No more kingdom tour?"

"I suppose," he replied. "Too bad about that, but…"

"Good!" she interrupted him, a wicked smile of pure satisfaction curving her lips. "Then I'll start with what I wanted to do all along…a real ride! Let's go, Fury!"

Without further warning, Lita swung a lithe limb over her horse's neck, her skirts bunching up and barring her legs for all to see as she shifted swiftly from genteel sidesaddle to boldly astride. Letting out an Amazonian battle cry she dug her heels into her mount and thundered off across the pasture, her ponytail whipping out behind her. Then in one smooth motion, horse and rider cleared the boxwood hedge that edged the pasture, setting out onto the plains of Elysion at a full gallop. The lime colored grosgrain ribbon that been holding back her hair came loose, fluttering slowly to earth as she left the pasture far behind.

"Damnation!" Nephrite swore, forgetting for a moment that there were ladies present. "I knew I shouldn't have let her ride that horse! She's going to kill herself! It's going to storm. She could even get struck by lightning."

"Not likely," Amy muttered under her breath, badly disguising the comment with a cough when Minya gave a sharp shake of her head. Zoisite shot the blue-haired princess a suspicious look, but held his peace.

If he heard the comment, Nephrite did not deign to reply. He shot a quick glance at Jadeite and Zoisite. "See the ladies back to the castle. I'll go get her back." The latter was said as a grimly determined 'just see if I don't' look settled on his face.

"Ha!" He wheeled about and kicked his mount into a ground-eating gallop, chasing after the headstrong Jovian princess. The others watched, bemused and fairly oblivious to the light sprinkle of rain that began to fall.

"Well that was unexpected," Zoisite murmured, peering from Minya to Amy for explanation. "Is she always that…impetuous?"

"She seems to have had a bad effect on him," Jadeite added, looking thoughtful as he dabbed away some moisture from his face with a handkerchief. "I haven't seen anyone get Neph that mad that fast in a long time. Interesting." He smirked knowingly. "Very interesting, actually."

Amy flushed, looking down at her dappled grey as she clucked to it. "Lita's always been a little on the impetuous side and she's got a quick temper at times, though she's usually quite good natured. I think she's embarrassed that he's caught her in a few rather humiliating scrapes and that's how she takes it out." She shrugged. "Lita would rather be outrageous on her own terms than ridiculous on someone else's."

The wind whipped up, chilling them all, so they quickly turned in the direction of the stables. After their mounts were cared for, Minya grabbed Amy and dragged her off to find Raye, who had hidden herself in a small temple to consult her fire. "We all need to pray," she informed her Mercurian friend.

"Why?"

"Because when I was reading the currents between them they were a hell of a lot stormier than anything on the weather front. Unless I miss my guess they'll either come back madly in love or one of them is going to flat out kill the other."

"Are you serious?" a wide-eyed Amy asked, blinking.

"Absolutely," the Venusian princess replied, nodding. "So pray hard. Lita has been trying so hard to drive Nephrite off that she forgot the most important lesson of the man-woman game."

"And what might that be, wise Princess Minya?" a polished male voice interjected, making both women jump. Kunzite, who had appeared seemingly from nowhere, stood before them, his arms crossed over his chest, his cape draped back over one shoulder and his top tunic button undone, displaying a strong chest.

For a moment Venus found her breath taken away by the picture he made, all silver and steel and smoothness. She blushed hotly, but then smiled and answered with blunt and refreshing honesty. "That, Lord Kunzite, all men love nothing quite so much as a challenge…"

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When he finally caught up with her, she was racing the storm, laughing, looking like a pagan goddess toying with the elements themselves. He did not call out, for he sensed that would only spur her on. He simply bent over his mount urging it on until he was racing alongside her. Then he hauled her bodily from her horse, ignoring her screech of indignation.

Abruptly freed of a rider, her hunter looked around, confused. Nephrite whistled a singularly peculiar tone and swatted the horse on the rump. Fury let out a squeal, wheeled about and took off for the castle on her own. Lita fumed, twisting awkwardly around to glare at him, though she dared not struggle too much until her feet were back on solid ground least she spook his horse and have both of them be thrown.

"What the HELL were you playing at, Princess?" he growled at her when they were once again on terra firma, grabbing her by the shoulders, trying to fight the urge to shake the infuriating woman until her teeth rattled. "You could have been thrown and broken your fool neck! You could have been struck by lightning! Anything could have happened!"

"Take your hands off me!" she snapped, slapping him. "You have no right to manhandle me, Lord Nephrite!"

"You're acting like a spoiled brat! Maybe I ought to give you a good spanking instead!"

She sucked in an outraged breath. "Just you try it!"

"Don't push me, Princess. Is today an example of the fantastic leadership and diplomatic skills we can expect from the Jovians in the future? If so, I fancy we'll see civil war in the future…maybe the fall of your monarchy itself."

"My people adore me," Lita informed him furiously, ignoring the goose that walked over her grave at his words. "They would follow my lead anywhere!"

"What? Out of morbid curiosity?"

"How dare you?!" She clutched her hands together against the urge to wring his thoroughly vexing neck.

"No!" he demanded, "How dare you?! I went out of my way to do something pleasant for you and your friends and you sulked like a child the whole time. Then you ran off heedlessly like a child as well." He shot her a scornful look and she blushed, shamefaced and glared back at him.

"Who asked you to?!" she finally shot back, raging at him. "I wanted solitude, not a circus parade, which is what you turned that ride into, for Zeus alone knows what reason. And I am NOT a child!"

He knew she wasn't a child. Not anymore. That was the whole problem, he thought. But she was, protected by her status and upbringing, definitely innocent. Far, far too innocent for him, but damned desirable anyway. The only reason he'd insisted on bringing along the group was because he knew he could trust himself with her when there were witnesses around. Otherwise he'd have followed her on her solitary ride, and then…

Nephrite shook himself and focused on his breathing until he had re-centered himself. He had to get a hold of himself or storm or no storm, he'd be tumbling the tempestuous little Jovian vixen in the grass. He shuddered and fought for control. The image was entirely too enticing. He could just picture her there beneath him, her damp curls tangling with the wildflowers and those bright emerald eyes darkening to jade with passion. Breathe, dammit, he reminded himself. Breathe!

"Bah," he snorted, his nostrils flaring. "You're a pampered little princess who's so young and green she's probably never properly kissed anyone."

Green? That stung. She tried and failed to come up with the perfect crusher. Finally she simply lied through her teeth. "I wouldn't say that. At least, nobody's complained before," she hissed, smirking when his face darkened with jealousy.

"Prove it." The words were past his lips before he could think better of them.

Lita's eyes blazed as she icily intoned, "I beg your pardon?"

Unable to back down without looking like an idiot, Nephrite shrugged, though his eyes couldn't help but stray down toward the soft coral pink lip she was chewing on in her agitation.

Lita was tempted. Very tempted. She had no idea what to do. Her boast had been pure bravado born of temper. But really, what the hell did it matter? If she made a fool of herself, she'd just be able to blame it on his dare anyway. She'd never get another such chance…

Without warning, Lita launched herself at Nephrite, she going up on her toes as she curled a hand around the back of his neck, pulling him to her. Her lips locked clumsily with his and the world fell away as passion flared.

They were both breathing hard when she broke off the kiss, stumbling back a few steps to stare warily at one another. "Satisfied," Lita snapped, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. She could taste him on her tongue and she feared she could quickly become addicted to that rare flavor. She also feared she'd just made a colossal mistake. Sweet heaven, but he was too much. She could feel her heart pounding drum-like in her chest.

He took a long look at the wide-eyed princess, whose rich chestnut hair was curled wildly around her pink, pretty, heart-shaped face. Her breasts heaved beneath her damp riding habit as she tried to catch her breath. His breath caught for the merest moment as she nervously licked her bee-stung lips, and his eyes darkened until they were the color of a moonless night sky.

Yes, she was definitely innocent, the little liar, but her inexpert yet passionate kiss showed definite promise, especially in the hands of the right teacher. She was also his. He'd known it from the moment he'd tasted her sweetness. They were right together. And he wasn't going to let a little thing like a few centuries of political squabbling and bad blood between his planet and her alliance get in their way.

"Princess," Nephrite replied, reaching for her with a seductive smile in place. He gave her hand a sharp tug, reeling her in until her lush curves were pressed firmly against the plane of his chest. "Not even close…"


	31. Baby Mine

"Are you sure? Absolutely sure, Zoi?"

Zoisite nodded, thumping his old friend on the shoulder in a gesture of camaraderie.

Nephrite absorbed the blow and never appeared to feel it, still reeling from the bombshell that had unwittingly been dropped on him. His dark azure eyes were wide in his suddenly pale face and he looked a bit dazed as Zoisite answered.

"Hai, Neph. I know what I saw. I just didn't know you didn't already know. I was downtown to pick up some contract documents from the print shop and saw Makoto go into that fancy baby boutique, Ma Petite Enfant. She was picking up little bitty sleepers and frilly baby dresses and cooing over embroidered nursery quilts and fancy carved cradles and whatnot. She even had Minako, the shopping queen, along with her…maybe for moral support."

A faintly amused smile twisted Zoisite's lips. "Minako, being Minako, took one of the strollers for a test drive and managed to wipe out a grand pyramid display of diapers and plush teddy bears. Missed some other pregnant woman by just a frog-hair and then somehow charmed her into not even yelling. Trust me. I couldn't forget that sight if I tried."

"But a baby? Mako said there were ways to prevent… I mean, we've been careful."

"Nothing's one hundred percent foolproof," reminded Zoisite, who knew whereof he spoke, since his significant other was a medical student.

"She was sick not long ago too," Jadeite reminded them as he leaned forward on his elbows. "She threw up at Rei's while she was helping with the incense and had to go home right afterward."

"She said it was the flu," objected Nephrite, shaking his head. He couldn't forget, though, how tired she'd looked then. He'd chalked it up to her class schedule picking up and working a lot of overtime hours when one of the other waitresses at her restaurant took sick, but maybe…

"She bought a mauve and mint green layette set, Neph. I saw her." He ignored Jadeite's 'Real men don't know colors like mauve and mint' crack, scarcely hidden under a fake cough, coming from across the table. "I even overheard her say, as they were leaving, that it would be perfect for the baby when she arrived."

"She?" The idea of a baby 'she' was too much. He had to try to think of something else. He was a seer, for cripe's sake! How had he missed something this big in his own life?

"But why wouldn't Makoto tell me? And why tell Minako, of all people, first?" A faintly hurt expression began to replace the dazedly numb look and shadowed Nephrite's features, turning them stark.

Zoisite shifted uneasily in his chair, listening to the casters squeak alarmingly, and glanced at Kunzite for help. "Well, I couldn't say…exactly. But Makoto's an orphan and the girls are like family to her. The only family she had for years. Probably closer than real siblings would be, when you get right down to it. So maybe letting her in on the secret was her way of making it up to Minako for the bumpy start you guys had in the beginning. And then again, it could be…"

He trailed off, not wanting to say the words, and twisted the end of his queue in on itself. Nephrite spun in his seat, and pinned him with a ferocious glare that had Zoisite flinching.

"Could be…WHAT?"

"Well… in some ways, you know, she's more old fashioned than the others. She's all about hearth and home. It could be that she's maybe kind of embarrassed and uncertain, you know, since she's both young and not married. You haven't asked her, remember?"

"But I love Makoto. I want to marry her," blurted out Nephrite, digging in his coat pocket for the little black velvet box he'd been carrying around. He snapped it open and a fat emerald, cut in the shape of a heart and ringed by tiny diamonds, winked up at him. "I've had the ring for a while now."

Jadeite let out a long, low whistle at the size of the gem-studded ring.

"But you haven't asked her yet," piped up Kunzite for the first time, looking even more sober than usual, a feat some would have considered impossible. "Have you?"

"No," admitted Nephrite, his shoulders slumping. "Send me up against a youma any day of the week and twice on Sundays and I won't even flinch. Tell me to lay down my life for her or for Endymion and I would, in a heartbeat. But imagining asking Makoto to marry me makes me break out in a cold sweat. I just keep thinking, what if she said no? Then where would I be? Worse yet, what if she looked at me like…like…?"

The 'before' and 'back then' remained unspoken, as Nephrite was unable to get the words past his lips. But all four rugged male bodies shuddered in rueful understanding as each man remembered all too well what his Silver Millennium lover's face, wracked by pain and ashen with betrayal, had looked like before, back then when the Shitennou had slain the senshi in cold blood while under the demon Metallia's thrall.

"Maybe," mused Jadeite with a reflection and maturity that was unusual for him, "you need to stop thinking about _that_ and try to move beyond it so you can start concentrating on how you feel about her being pregnant. About being a father." He shot his friend a quick little sidelong glance, uncertain of what response he would get. "How _do_ you feel about that?"

Nephrite suddenly looked more dazed than ever.

In his mind's eye he could see a gently smiling Makoto, curvier than ever, her stomach softly rounded with his child. He could see too, the gold and emerald bands on her hand as it rested protectively over her gravid belly. Then the image of a cherubic infant…no, a girl, with petal soft, round cheeks, pink rosebud lips, downy nut brown curls and shining gemstone eyes superimposed itself on the picture. Would, he wondered, a child of theirs inherit his sapphire gaze or her emerald?

The mental image grew more detailed. He could hear Makoto humming a lullaby, ever so faintly off key, as she cradled a nursing, pink blanket-swaddled bundle to her bosom. He could hear infectious baby giggles and the soft patter of bootie-clad feet. He could almost smell the sweetness of milk and baby powder. He could hear a toddler girl's innocent voice calling him…

The vague, goofy smile began to slowly curve his lips until he was wearing a full fledged, giddy grin. Abruptly he leapt up and grabbed his friends, dragging all the startled men halfway across the table in a crushing group hug.

"Sweet Sol, congratulate me! I'm gonna be a DADDY!!!"

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When a tired Makoto arrived home from work late that day, she stared bemusedly at the candle-bedecked, china-laden table, wondering if she'd missed some anniversary somehow. She couldn't think of any and finally had to give up, resorting to asking.

"What's going on?"

Nephrite poked his head out of the kitchen and she couldn't help but smile at the picture he made, in his teriyaki smudged, vinaigrette streaked, 'Kiss The Cook' apron, one of her chef's hats perched drunkenly on his head. He appeared to be hiding something behind his back and Makoto blinked, knowing a frisson of fear for the state of her kitchen.

"Oh…you're home." he muttered nervously. "Why don't you go change, hon, and maybe put your feet up for a while I get things on the table? You do so much of the cooking; I thought I'd cook for you tonight instead."

Truth to tell, Nephrite had been cooking, at least as well as he was able, all afternoon. With help from the guys, he'd created a special meal in hopes of conveying to Makoto that he knew about the secret and that it was okay to tell him. They would sup on baby back ribs, baby peas and carrots, and a couscous and baby corn salad. He'd even dropped off at Makoto's favorite bakery, and though he'd winced at the place's name (A Bun In The Oven), he'd picked up a dozen or so pink iced petits fours that they specialized in, the fancy little sweets she teasingly called baby cakes.

And after she'd told him, he would remind her how much he loved her and how much he loved their child because it was a part of her. Then he'd ask her to marry him. And he wouldn't take no for an answer.

Makoto's uneasy feeling began to grow, but when he gave her a gentle shove in the other direction, she went, since her feet were starting to hurt in her saddle oxfords, which lacked something in the arch-support department.

When he called her to eat, the candles were flickering gently and she sniffed approvingly at the dinner (he'd improved by leaps and bounds since he'd moved in with her), but she couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. With unnatural quietness, they dined. She enjoyed the sweet peas and tender new carrots, the smoky-sweet meat. But the silence was terribly fraught with dangerous emotion. And when he broke it, starting with, "Sometimes in life things happen that aren't planned," Makoto knew something was very, very wrong.

She set down her flute of sparkling cider with a table-jarring thump that rattled the china and pinned him with a look that brooked no deceit. "Nephrite, what on Earth are you saying? You've been dancing around telling me something all night. Did you set up this whole thing to try and tell me gently that you've met someone else and we're breaking up, because I can tell you this, if you did, it's not working."

He stared at her as if her hair had gone green…which, dammit, sometimes it was, she thought. As if she'd announced she was an alien…which she definitely was. Oh hell! Her life was not fair! He was probably trying to tell her that he was taken with that brazen, red-headed hussy of a secretary she'd never liked. The one who cooed over him always told him how wonderful he was and who hadn't been known to throw things at him while in a temper…things like lightning bolts.

"What the hell do you mean, breaking up, Makoto?" he demanded. "Are you saying you want to break up? Now?!"

She blushed, unable to answer, ashamed at her outburst.

Nephrite glowered down at her. He'd never quite trusted that kissy-faced, free and easy Frenchman who taught the cordon bleu classes at her culinary school. He was, in Nephrite's opinion, far too…affectionate with women in general, and Nephrite's woman in particular. And if his sweet Makoto thought he was going to let her leave him and take off with their baby for Paris with that, that…frog in a chef's coat, well, she'd have another think coming, he could tell her that much.

"Is now a problem?" Makoto asked shakily, shoving a tendril of hair behind her ear and staring down at the bubbles fizzing in her glass. She could feel her stomach begin to heave. She shoved her chair away from the table and rose. She needed some air.

"I'd damn well say it is!" burst out Nephrite, slamming a fist on the table. The china, the glassware and Makoto all jumped. "What with the baby on the way. I know you hadn't told me, but I found out that you were baby shopping anyway. We've got to get married. I love you both too much to let you go hieing off with our daughter. "

"What ARE you talking about? _I'm_ not the one going anywhere." Makoto gaped at him like a fish beached on the sand, wondering what in heaven's name her shopping for her co-worker Kimiko's baby-shower gift had to do with anything and when Nephrite had lost his mind. "And what do you mean, our daughter?" The rest of his sentence hit her and she dropped into her chair again as if she'd been cut off at the knees.

"Married?" she whispered uncertainly, tears starting in the corners of her eyes.

Nephrite rounded the table and, kneeling before her, dabbed at the spilled drops on her cheeks with a linen napkin. "Our baby, sweetheart. I know you're pregnant. Zoi accidentally let the cat out of the bag with this one. I just wanted to show you how happy I was about it before I asked you to marry me."

He took her chill hands in his larger, warm ones, and somehow when he pulled them away, a soft, velvet box was sitting cupped in her palms. He didn't forget Jadeite's admonition to tell her how he wanted to marry her even before he learned of the baby, least she incorrectly think he only wanted to marry her because she was pregnant.

"Gods, but I love you, woman! I've had the ring for months, honey. I just couldn't seem to find the right way to ask you. And I know this isn't it either, but it's real and it's now."

Nephrite gently flipped up the lid of the box, revealing the gorgeous emerald ring within, smiling a little as she gasped. "Marry me, Makoto, and make me the happiest man in all of Japan. Hell…all Terra itself."

He slid the ring from its compartment and went to slide it onto her left hand but paused, looking worried when she only continued to stare mutely at him. "The proper etiquette, honey, is to say, of course I'll marry you, darling," he hinted.

Her lower lip trembling, Makoto barely managed a shaky, "Hai. If you want me to, I'll marry you, b…"

Nephrite's heated lips on hers smothered the 'but' she'd been about to speak, and he scooped her up out of her chair, carrying her from the room. It wasn't until much, much later, when she lay sprawled across his chest among hopelessly tangled bedclothes that she remembered it.

"Nephrite..."

"Hrm?" he asked, gracing his fiancée with a lazy, satisfied grin. She looked damned good wearing his ring, a sheet and precious little else.

"You didn't let me say this before, but I've got to tell you." She sighed. "I'm really not pregnant."

He blinked, opened his mouth and tried to speak, but couldn't find the words. Makoto grinned, leaning forward to kiss the tip of his nose.

"Remind me never to listen to that idiot Zoi again," he finally grumbled, looking chagrined. Then he paused and stared deeply into her eyes, momentarily fierce. "You're still marrying me, Makoto," he ordered.

She laughed and kissed his nose again just because he looked so cute. "Okay."

He eyed her consideringly. "You're absolutely sure?" he asked.

"Trust me, Neph…I am absolutely, positively _not_ pregnant."

He mulled over that thought for a moment, then grinned wickedly, stroking his palm possessively around her slim waist to her flat belly and then dipped lower, making her gasp. His breath was hot against her as he first nibbled on her earlobe, then breathed, "Wanna be?"

Her delighted laughter was answer enough.


	32. Sacrifices And Offerings

"It seems almost…sacrilegious," Rei fussed, frowning as she poked at the Sacred Fire and added more fuel to it. "Tell me again why we're doing this? I don't like using the fire kami for games."

"It's not either sacrilegious," Minako objected. "And it's no game. We're doing it because we have to protect ourselves."

"Blondie has a point. We can't just trust to fate and Usagi to find us a good one. I mean, she's a perfect dear and she has good taste for her own clothes, but really, her tastes have to be held a little suspect. I mean, she's marrying Mamoru and he wears that…that…thing…" Makoto said bluntly, settling herself cross-legged on the floor beside Rei.

From the depths of her handbag she tugged out a lumpy-looking tangle of yarn and two long knitting needles, wrestling with them as she tried to straighten out the tangled mass of yarn. It was a near color match to a certain very ugly sport coat that their friend's fiancé wore on a regular basis.

"Point taken," Rei couldn't help but admit, though she continued to fret. "Haruka and Michiru are lucky. Haruka was even able to sweet talk Usagi into letting her wear a tux since she and Michiru aren't walking down the aisle, but doing the music instead."

"I hope no one minds if I work until it's my turn," Makoto murmured, re-adjusting her needles. "One of the girls on campus said this was a good way to relax and be productive at the same time. She lent me an old ball of yarn she had to practice with."

"I didn't know you knitted," Ami commented. "That's a…unique color."

"Unfortunate color is more like it," interjected Minako, eying the stuff like it was a bomb about to go off.

"I…" Just then one of the needles slipped and Makoto dropped a stitch. Makoto scowled at the would-be scarf in her hands. "I don't really knit. At least not well. I'm just trying to learn a new skill."

"Well," Minako said gaily, "keep it up, Mako-chan and I'm sure you'll get it. After all, they say that practice makes perfect."

Three spooked women stared in disbelief at their friend as crickets chirped and the world seemed to spin off its axis. Minako looked back at them, then blinked. "What?"

"You…you said it right," Ami muttered, dumfounded. The little bluenette looked as if she expected the world to fall in on them all. Surely Minako getting an adage right was a sign of the end times. "You actually got an aphorism completely correct."

Minako grinned cheekily, flashing her trademark V for victory sign. "I know…I've been practicing it for a while now. That's why I said it. So are we ready to begin? After all time's a'trashing…"

Rei, Makoto and Ami all sighed, relieved, as their world settled back into its normal orbit.

"Hotaru-chan isn't here yet," Ami pointed out with a gentle smile, making Minako flush.

"Ooops…I'm so used to it being just us Inners against the world that I forgot she was going to be a bridesmaid too."

A quick, furtive rap at the door had everyone inside tensing guiltily.

"Who is it?" Minako called out warily.

The door swung open without a word, revealing a slender, delicate looking, and very pale, but amused looking teenage girl. The women smiled at their youngest senshi comrade and fellow bridesmaid. The teen turned, whispered something to someone just outside the door and then shut it behind her, leaving the five young women in privacy.

"Hi everyone," Tomoe Hotaru said with a grin, plopping herself down on the floor next to Ami. "Sorry I'm late."

"That's okay," Minako assured her. "We're just now ready to start anyway."

"The Shitennou said they'd make sure we weren't disturbed in any way," Hotaru said with a merry twinkle in her eye. "Jadeite made me show him ID. Zoisite did some kind of biometric security thing to make me prove I was who I said I was, and Nephrite did a quick little star reading." She smiled blandly. "I had no idea he could do that during the day." She paused and shot a quick, sly glance at Minako. "Kunzite himself is stationed right outside the door. We couldn't be better protected while we're doing this."

"I'm not so sure of that," groaned Minako, looking cross. Under her breath she muttered, "I don't know why we had to bring Kunzite into this at all. He doesn't make ME feel safe."

Four pairs of very interested eyes turned on the blonde, who blushed faintly and waved a hand. "Never mind…forget I said anything at all."

In an attempt to forestall speculation about her rocky interactions with Kunzite, Minako leapt to her feet and started to get down to business.

"Okay. Everyone knows why we're here. We're going to pray to whatever kami might be listening to save us from a fate worse than death by chocolate…the ugly bridesmaid's dress."

Everyone giggled at Minako's overwrought tones, but she continued in spite of the general laughter.

"We have all brought with us a picture of the ugliest bridesmaid dress we could find so that we can show the gods exactly what NOT to get us…and to burn those dresses ceremonially to ward them off. Also," Minako paused to wipe away a hint of drool from the corner of her mouth, "the one who brings the ugliest picture wins a box of Mako-chan's famous bonbons for herself."

Makoto ceased struggling with her knitting long enough to preen slightly. Hotaru grinned at the sight of the project. "Oh, Mako-chan, Setsuna-mama asked me to tell you that there's going to be a fancy new baby shop called Ma Petit Enfant opening up downtown in another few months that you'll need to check out..." Hotaru broke off, leaving a pregnant pause.

There was an indrawn gasp from the rest of the Inners, whose collective gaze swung to the knitting. Makoto couldn't possibly be…could she?

Makoto's face went completely scarlet as she realized what her friends were thinking. "I'm not…" She whispered her denial. "Honest."

"…for one of your co-workers who's going to be expecting." Hotaru finished up with a smirk, thoroughly satisfied with the mischief she'd managed.

Shooting a testy glare at the teen, Makoto growled, jabbing a knitting needle in Hotaru's general direction. "You may not be Mistress Nine anymore, missy, but part of you is still eeeevil." Her reprimand seemed not to faze its intended target much as Hotaru dissolved in giggles, nearly rolling on the floor.

Minako sighed gustily. "If we could please get started…"

"Can I go first?" Hotaru begged, sitting up and waving a hand. "Please…"

With the magnanimous air of a queen offering a token to her subject, Minako nodded. "Yes, I think that's fair. Why don't we all go by age…youngest to oldest?" She smirked as Rei scowled in the sudden realization that she was going to be last. "Sorry oldster."

Rei bristled as Hotaru smothered another giggle behind her hands. Suddenly, though, the girl sat upright. "Wait a second…I should let you know that even though Setsuna-mama couldn't be here today, she sent word that she wanted to participate in this. She gave me a sealed envelope to present in her stead. So I guess I'll be going first AND last today."

"Show us what you brought."

With a gravity beyond her years, Hotaru made a production of opening up her leather satchel and withdrawing a bridal magazine. Slowly she flipped it open, finally pointing to a dress of crunchy looking taffeta. Though the style wasn't bad, the color, a shade that was too yellowish to be peach but too peachy to be buttercup yellow, was foul. It was also guaranteed to make the pale skinned but dark haired Hotaru look like death warmed over. "There. Exhibit number one."

"It's almost the exact color of the filling for my apricot bonbons," Makoto observed, looking thoughtful. "But crispy."

Rei leaned over for a look and cringed, tugging on her own raven mane. "Sallow city," she pronounced. "I can see why you picked it, Hotaru-chan."

Hotaru nodded. "I figured you'd understand, Rei-chan. Even the name of the color is bad. It's called Shrimp. Ugh."

"I kind of like it," Minako murmured, eyeing the dress critically. "It's so…warm."

"You would like it, Blondie. But it's horrible." sniffed Rei. "Next!"

Laying aside her knitting, Makoto pulled out two snapshots, which she held to her chest, grinning with satisfaction. "I borrowed Nephrite's camera to take these so you could see both the front and the back. I think you'll all agree that it's the trifecta of hideousness."

Slowly she placed the photographs beside Hotaru's offering. "Big butt bow AND a peplum, guaranteed to make anybody's butt look huge, AND cheesy satin and lace fabrics in a bilious seafoam green color. Makoto smoothed her hands over her own curvy hips. "I am not built for those sorts of details, and even Nephrite was astonished that I could find a shade of green that didn't exactly flatter me."

"Wow," Minako muttered. "That's pretty awesomely bad, Mako-chan. A triple threat." She glanced up at Ami. "What did you bring us, Ami-chan?"

The petite genius absently tugged a picture, cut from a magazine, from where it appeared to have been used for marking her place in the book she'd been reading. Ami's picture showed a model who seemed almost embarrassed to be seen wearing a gawdawful confection of a dress that bared one shoulder and was held up on the other shoulder by a huge ruffle. What lifted it from bad to truly ridiculous, however, was the gown's fabric and color, a crumpled-looking, shiny, metallic fuchsia lamé.

Makoto recoiled. "Ack! Can you imagine how that would clash with my hair? Ewww… and Nephrite would see me in it. Take it away, Ami-chan! For the love of god, take it away!"

Ami grinned contentedly. She could almost taste Makoto's bonbons. They, like victory, would be sweet.

"I guess I'm next," Minako said with a grin that had the others, save Ami, looking worried. With her known outlandish tastes, anything Minako found bad enough to present had to be a caution.

Minako presented her offering with a showy flourish. Ami stared, then looked crestfallen as Minako's choice knocked hers completely out of contention. "It…it looks like a cross between a circus tent and a carousel," she muttered faintly, eyeing the massive bright blue skirt which was pulled up here and there at the bottom to reveal white ruffles beneath.

"The big top meets an explosion at a lace factory," added Hotaru, wincing at the cobwebby black stuff that outlined each 'pull-up' in the skirt.

"It requires a hoop skirt," groaned Rei, holding her head. "Okay…that's a tough one. Yeesh…what are some designers smoking when they come up with this stuff?"

"I don't know," Makoto murmured, "but whatever it is, it's strong. Even Scarlett O'Hara wouldn't have worn that one."

There was a general nodding of heads. "Well," Rei said, "I guess that leaves mine. I'm not sure if mine is as bad as some of the others, but I based it on solid research. I showed Jadeite a few of the possibilities. When he started drooling over this one, I figured I had my choice. Voila…"

She pulled out another bridal magazine and flipped through it until she came to a page marked with a sticky note.

"I think it's pretty nice, actually," Makoto murmured, poking her finger at a picture of a sedate-looking floral-print dress. "It's sort of springy."

"Ooops. That's not it," Rei announced with a sweatdrop, flipping over one page. "It's this one."

The girls stared, dumbfounded. Rei's dress choice had a spaghetti-strapped, corset-looking top of metallic green and black stripes and a very short skirt of tiered black tulle ruffles. Finally Minako began to laugh. "It looks like…like…" Unable to find the words she mimed pouring a whisky.

"Like a tarty saloon girl's dress?" Rei answered dryly. "I know. Like something out of those bad Westerns you used to watch, Minako." She snorted. "If we wear something like this, Usagi's wedding will be, at least for me, a slap and tickle fest, not a serious occasion. I do not trust this dress and Jadeite. In fact, the very thought again makes me say, damn Haruka and Michiru for escaping."

"Haruka-papa always has a plan," Hotaru said with a grin.

"It's going to be awfully hard to choose the worst one," Ami muttered, tapping each picture by turn with a single fingernail. "Just when you think you've seen the worst, along comes another one."

"Wait," Hotaru reminded them. "We still have Setsuna-mama's dress to show. She wouldn't even show _me_ what it was. She gave it to Kunzite to give to me when I got here and just said we wouldn't believe it. She said that, as a designer herself, it pained her beyond all ability to describe."

Borrowing one of Makoto's knitting needles, Hotaru slit open the top of the sealed brown manila envelope, stamped all over with caution and bio-hazard warning stamps, and pulled out a picture, setting it down so everyone could take a good long look. Reaction was swift and appalled.

"Sweet heaven preserve us!"

"My gods! That is so wrong!"

"There ought to be laws!"

"There aren't words enough…"

"That's what happens when a body has all of time to find the most horrendous bridesmaid dress ever made. You just can't imagine that such a thing exists and then someone goes and creates something like that…"

Minako shuddered delicately, scooping up the pictures, being careful to use the rest to hide Setsuna's picture least they be forced to see it again. "Let us burn it and never speak of it again. But pray hard."

Spooked, the women shivered and nodded. Everyone knelt, head bowed and eyes closed in silent prayer as Minako slowly fed the pictures into the fire, carefully averting her eyes from the last image until it had curled into ash.

There was an almost palpable lightening of the atmosphere as it went, as if a great evil had been purified in the flames. Makoto smiled weakly. "Well, I guess Setsuna wins the prize…with a bullet."

Nobody could deny it. Hotaru, though, frowned as she pulled out a slip of paper that she had found wedged in the bottom of the manila envelope. It turned out to be a note from Setsuna herself. "Well I'll be…" she muttered, scanning the words. "Listen to this, Mako-chan. She says she knew she was going to win, so she's already collected her prize from your place, and that they were delicious. She said you were right too, when you said the color of my dress was the same as the filling in the apricot bonbons."

Hotaru paused and scratched her head. "Oh…and the last little bit doesn't make much sense, but she said when you go to Ma Petit Enfant for that co-worker, Mako-chan, even if you admire a bunch of other stuff, you're supposed to buy the green and pink layette set. But she doesn't say why. Just that you're supposed to and you'll thank her someday."

"Now that's pure Setsuna," Makoto said with a laugh as she rose and shouldered her bag, stuffing her knitting inside. "Always cryptic and at least three steps ahead of the rest of us. If you see her, Hotaru-chan, tell her I'll keep her words in mind. But for now, I've got a date."

The brunette grinned and her emerald eyes twinkled in anticipation. "Nephrite's taking me to lunch and then we're going to go to the beach. Gotta love romantic walks along the sand with a man who looks good in a swimsuit."

She glanced over at Ami. "Wanna bring Zoisite and join us later for a bonfire? I know you love the beach, Ami-chan. And I'll bet Zoi thinks you look cute in that little aqua maillot you bought."

"I'll ask him." Ami flushed to the roots of her hair, but looked pleased until she realized what it sounded like she'd said. "I mean…I'll ask him if he wants to come… I mean… Oh heck!" Red-faced, she crossed her arms over her chest and pouted.

Rei and Makoto laughed and gave the blushing woman light hugs. "Never mind, Ami-chan. Even a genius is entitled to a brain blip now and again."

"I'll tell the guys to go stand down," Makoto murmured, sliding open the door.

"All done?" rumbled a very male voice. Minako, who was gathering her things, winced and continued rooting around in her own bag.

"Yup. Arigato, Kunzite. Ja ne, everyone." Makoto gave an airy wave and left, followed by an embarrassed Ami and a gleefully grinning Hotaru.

The broad-shouldered Shitennou entered the fire room and for Minako, it suddenly seemed to shrink until all she could see was the silver-haired man. Rei took a long look, sized up the situation, and mumbled something about needing to go get some more wood for the fire. She left the room with almost indecent haste, abandoning her friend and ignoring Minako's pleading look.

Minako blanched. She'd been trying for weeks, with only limited success, to keep her distance from the platinum-haired Shitennou with the intense mien. He was, however, hard to ignore, especially when he was chasing her. She was weak, darn it! And it was all his fault!

Kunzite couldn't help but smile. Minako looked gorgeous any time, but when she was flustered, she looked downright adorable. "So…did you ladies manage to find the ugliest bridesmaid dress ever in the history of weddings?"

Shocked, Minako looked up and lost herself for a second in his intense silver-grey gaze. "You knew?"

He nodded, trying to regroup his face into its usual solemn lines. He failed. "Sailor Pluto warned me. But don't worry. We won't say a word to either Endy…I mean, Mamoru or Usagi. Your secret is safe with us."

Minako sighed in sudden relief. "Thank goodness…"

"I'd do anything for you," he reminded her with a significant look.

Without warning, though, Kunzite bent and took her in his strong arms, ignoring Minako's nervous little squeak. He brushed back a lock of her golden hair and his breath and lips were warm against her ear as he murmured quietly. "The dress doesn't always make the man, or in this case, the woman. For what it's worth, Minako, I think you'd have managed to look stunning in whatever you wore..."

Minako froze, simply breathing in the oh so male scent of sandalwood and wood smoke and _him_. Her heart pounded furiously. Was he going to kiss her today? Sweet Aphrodite…though she was still wary of him, a part of her couldn't help wanting him to. Unconsciously she leaned upward on tip toe.

Kunzite's grin turned into a pure bad-boy smirk as he finished. "…even in Setsuna's bubblegum pink sequined Hello Kitty number."

(Author's Note: Submitted for the Kunzite/Mina fans' approval, group meddling. :D This story hops back in time a few months from the last one, but that Pluto's a crafty one, isn't she? Boy, these little scenes just keep getting longer and longer too…Whew!)


	33. Bonding Moments

"Alright. I want your money and no trouble. So don't try anything funny and no one'll get hurt."

The weaselly-voiced threat had a pair of blond heads, one golden and the other pure platinum, spinning to face their assailant.

He looked pretty weasel-ish too, Minako decided, her lips tightening in annoyance as the pock-marked, skinny-faced street thief in the baggy leather jacket wagged one very illegal handgun in their faces. Where he'd gotten the hard-to-find firepower was anybody's guess.

She softly clucked her tongue. It was pretty sad state of affairs when a body wasn't secure in their persons and purses from punks looking to make a quick score. Her grip involuntarily tightened on the skinny beaded strap of her stylish designer reticule. She'd be damned if she was giving up her sweet, new, took-her-whole-last-paycheck-and-still-not-yet-paid-off Fellini evening bag to some little creep who reeked of garlic, cheap booze, stale cigarettes and b.o. just because he had a gun.

She gave a quick glance from under her lashes at her companion to gauge his reaction, only to sigh disgustedly at the total lack thereof. Kunzite, recently re-christened Takeo Koichi, was, as ever, stone-faced and unreadable.

His total self-possession annoyed her even more and it showed in her baby-blues as she glowered at him. If he hadn't held her up to act as Mamoru's messenger boy, she'd be inside the nightclub having a fine time instead of standing outside it in a smelly, trash littered alley getting mugged.

"It's not my fault," Koichi calmly stated. "So don't get mad at me, Aino Minako."

"Shut up!" snapped the thief, with a quick agitated look at Koichi and an unsteady wave of his weapon in the man's general direction. "Just shut the hell up. And don't think of trying to play the hero, big boy."

A Hero?

The incongruity of that made Minako giggle suddenly, though she tried to smother the sound behind her hands. She couldn't help it, though, and the sound bubbled out. Really, it was so ludicrous. Here they were: she, a superheroine for justice, and he, arguably the strongest warrior Terra had ever produced (whether on the side of good or evil), and they were both being held up by a common punk who didn't even come up to Koichi's carved granite chin. Yet neither of them could afford to blow their covers by taking care of him. It was completely laughable.

Minako's helpless laughter worried the thief. It wasn't normal. The blonde gal ought to be worried, a bit fearful, maybe even crying in the face of his firepower. But definitely not laughing. He shot another quick look at Koichi, questioning this time.

"Yer girlfriend stupid or something?"

That stopped Minako's laughter. Affronted, her hands dropped to her hips and she scorched the skinny thief with such an indignant look that he ought to have been reduced to cinders on the spot.

"I. Am. Not. STUPID! And he's not my boyfriend either!" She'd contemplated kicking the man but instead stomped one spike-heeled, sandal-clad foot to punctuate her sentences.

The thief, his gaze drawn by her stamping, looked Minako over slowly and intently for the first time, starting from her feet, moving up her shapely bared legs and over her generous curves wrapped in a snug bluebell colored mini-dress. He paused briefly to covet the expensive gold and mandarin garnet necklace decorating her throat, which formed the symbol of her planet, but his gaze then continued upward until he reached the Goddess of Love's stunning, but undeniably petulant-looking face. He let out an involuntary appreciative wolf whistle.

Then, dumbfounded, he turned and blurted out to Koichi, "You ain't with her? What's the matter with you? Ya gay?"

Minako couldn't help the teasing little smirk that twisted her lips at that. "We-ell," she began tauntingly, "there have been rumors…"

Koichi's glacial grey eyes narrowed slightly. His voice, though, was whisper soft and intimately warm as he warned, "Don't you go there. Finish that sentence, Minya love, and I'll have to warm your behind." Then he slowly smiled.

Minako froze. The intense look in his eyes convinced her that he'd both do it AND enjoy it, while the old endearment and the unexpectedly sultry tone of his voice made Minako's breath catch in her throat. His lazy smile made her blood run alternately cold and burning hot. Flustered beyond words, she swallowed hard and veiled her look of confusion behind her lashes.

"I'm not your love," she mumbled softly, feeling her heart tug at the denial.

Perhaps he'd had too much to drink or perhaps it was the flare of wild pheromones in the air, but the smelly little man's fancy had turned from simple armed robbery to something a lot more contemptible.

"Well," he said with a leering grin that turned Minako's stomach, "if she ain't yours, then she can be mine…at least for the night. Right, sweetheart?"

A rough hand landed on her arm and Minako let out a cry of outrage, clawing at it, drawing blood. He made her flesh crawl. "How dare you? Let me go, you stinking cretin!"

"No. She can't," was Koichi's quiet response. "Ever."

Minako's assailant sneered, tightening his grip on her arm painfully to punish her for the scratches now decorating his hand.

"Well me and this gun say otherwise. So just hand over your wallet nice and slow so's I don't have to put a bullet between your eyes and then I'll take this little lady and go have a little…party."

Honey-colored hair whirled as Minako jerked, snarling at Koichi, who reached for his back pocket, "Are you just going to let this pig try and get away with this, you coward?! I knew you weren't reform…aaaah!"

A shocked scream cut off her tirade as Koichi suddenly leapt into motion. With the controlled but lethal he whipped from his pocket not a wallet, but a small telescoping baton that extended with a blindingly quick flick of his wrist, and would retract with another sharp snap. Two quick strikes would do it.

The sound of breaking bone in an alley at night is shockingly loud. As was the agonized howl of Minako's assailant, who had involuntarily dropped his weapon when his wrist and elbow were shattered by the silent silver-haired man. Koichi's booted foot was a blur as he kicked the gun away, sending it skittering across the alley.

The Venusian reacted almost as quickly, lashing out with her heel and elbow, driving the first into the man's instep and the other into his solar plexus. He buckled. She then spun, using a modified judo flip to hurl her gasping attacker face first into the side of the building. There was an ominous crunching sound, most probably from his nose breaking, a broken moan and the man slumped to the ground unconscious.

Minako spotted the gun, gleaming dully in the moonlight. She bent down and picked up the gun, holding it at arm's length in distaste using just the tips of two fingers.

"I hate guns," she sniffed primly, wrinkling up her nose.

Koichi laughed, long and low, until Minako couldn't help but smile wryly and then join in.

"So what do you think I should do with him?" Koichi finally asked, nudging the unconscious criminal experimentally with his toe. The would-be thief didn't so much as twitch.

A frankly evil smile flitted across Minako's lips. "Hold him up so I can kick him?" she suggested hopefully.

"Bloodthirsty little thing, aren't you? I do believe he's suffered enough," mused Koichi thoughtfully, contemplating the blood that had gushed from the man's battered nose and oozed sluggishly from the scrapes on his now swollen face.

Minako let out a mou of clear disagreement, pouting. "Hardly. I at least wanted to destroy the gun. I could do that you know," she said, referencing her planet's power over metal. "He wouldn't be half so tough without his fleece."

"Piece," he corrected. "And I know you can."

It was another infuriating reminder of the past and it made Minako scowl.

He held up a finger. "But I have a better idea. I'm sure he's used that weapon in other crimes. Shame not to let him pay for them."

From his jacket pocket, Koichi withdrew a pair of thin gloves, which he slid on and then a lethal looking balisong. While Minako watched, he flipped open the blade of the butterfly knife, using it to make short work of the man's leather jacket. He cut until he had sliced a more than sufficient number of leather strips to truss the swine-like man up like a pig for the roasting.

"I call that a fine night's work. We just need the cherry to go on top."

He then took a handkerchief from his pocket and the gun from Minako, wiping any possible prints of hers from the weapon before he laced it onto another thin leather thong and hung it around the thief's neck like a baby's pacifier. "And there it is."

Then he pulled out his cell phone and placed a quick anonymous call to the nearest police station. When he had done this, he turned and arched a perfect platinum eyebrow at Minako. "Shall we take our leave before the authorities arrive and we have to answer unpleasant questions?"

Minako appeared to mull the idea over, twining a long taffy colored lock of hair around and around her finger. "I don't know. I came out because I wanted a drink and some fun tonight. Now, after everything that's happened I think I really _need_ that drink and that fun."

Koichi bowed, as if they were at a formal ball, then took her arm and led her out of the alley toward the club. "Allow me, milady."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"You're either joking or drunk!" Hino Rei winced and covered the telephone's earpiece as Usagi's voice shrilled upward into super-sonic, weapons-grade levels. "You must've been mistaken!"

"Damp your gain," the quick-tempered priestess muttered into the receiver, wondering if she'd be deaf when this was all over. The short answer was, probably.

When Usagi's squeal died back, she answered, "Of course I'm not mistaken. I saw it with my own eyes. Minako and Kunzite walked into Club Shibuya Love, sat down together in one of the private booths in the back and ordered a couple of drinks. I practically fell off the barstool myself when saw them laughing and toasting something instead of her toasting his backside with one of her attacks."

"But she HATES him," Usagi insisted, trying to wrap her unwilling brain around the very concept of a laughing Kunzite who would go out clubbing. The image just wouldn't gel. "She says it all the time."

"That's true." Rei couldn't deny it.

"She won't give him so much as the time of day and she still swears she's never going to find a true love because of that stupid curse she claims Adonis put on her. And she won't voluntarily spend more than five minutes in Kunzite's presence. You know that. So you had to have been mistaken, Rei-chan."

"Uh, Usagi-chan, how many other six foot, three inch men with long platinum hair do you know who've been chasing after Minako? Seriously?" asked Rei, her tone distinctly dry. She knew who it was she'd seen.

That drew a childish giggle from the future queen. "You have a point. But if it was really them, why didn't you go find out something more for me? Now I'll just be dying of curiosity until I next see her, darn it! It'll be agony."

"Like Luna would say, it'll build your character," Rei assured her, with a snort. "Anyway, even if I'd wanted to spy more…which, for the record, I wouldn't…Jinsei came back just then because our cab had finally shown up and the meter was running and he was saying something about the cops arriving en masse…that I didn't exactly get. But anyway, I had to leave."

"Aw, fudge sauce!" grumbled Usagi, flinging herself down on the bed to kick her legs sulkily and wish she had some fudge sauce…not to mention some sweet vanilla ice cream to go with it to ease the disappointment of not being privy to Minako's secrets. The phone, however, never left her ear as she pondered aloud the delicious idea of her friend and the leader of her dearest Mamo-chan's Shitennou.

"Omigosh…I wonder if Minako-chan's changed her mind. Artemis would up and have kittens. After all, he's none too fond of the Shitennou either, especially Kunzite, and he's totally protective of Minako-chan." She groaned. "Ooooh, this is killing me. I hate secrets when I'm not in on them! I wonder what's going on."

A faint, secretive smile curved Rei's lips as she recalled the sight of the taciturn man, who'd once been their enemy and was now their ally, reaching across the tiny table top to draw her light-hearted Venusian friend into an intimate embrace. She could tell the nosy little odango that Minako's fingers tangling into his hair had convinced her that the passionate kiss that was definitely not of the one-sided variety. And Rei's affinity for all things fiery had told her even at a distance that the chemistry between the Terran and the Venusian burned white hot.

Yes, she thought, she could tell these things, but…some things witnessed were just better left unspoken.

"Usagi-chan, I really have no idea…"


	34. Better Than

He sat, staring at the floor, trying to become invisible. At least, as invisible as it is possible for a 6'4" striking, dark-haired male perched on a tiny, white wrought iron chair just outside the fitting rooms between Ladies Separates and Women's Intimate Apparel to be. In his broad, tanned hand he clutched a dainty, pink leather handbag that sported a design of hearts embroidered around the clasp. He looked lost among the racks and racks of feminine attire.

No self-respecting male wants to be seen perched on the 'hubby' chair outside a women's dressing room clutching one's significant other's purse. It's boring and uncomfortable, and just screams of being completely whipped. Or so his so-called friend's had just kindly informed him after they spotted him from across the store. They were on him like buzzards on carrion.

"Man, Masato, I cannot believe it. You're seriously holding her purse for her. That's so…sweet." Jinsei's inflection made it clear that by sweet he meant pathetic. "I guess since it's _that_ serious, it's as well you finally got up the guts to give her the ring already."

With a snort, the troublemaker looked around, shoving a hand through his studiedly messy blond hair. Devilment gleamed in his cerulean blue gaze and he fluttered his eyelashes theatrically at his dark-haired comrade.

"What'd she say to get you to do it?" He mustered a faltering, breathy falsetto. "Just hold this for me for a sec, Honey… Or did she call you Sweetie, Satou-kun?" he warbled the cheap pun, blowing saccharine air kisses as he watched the dark man's lips tighten. "Darlin' or Baby, maybe?"

Perhaps it was cruel, but somehow Jinsei just couldn't help himself when faced with such an obvious comedown for masculinity. His friend was clearly wrapped around the pinky of his pretty, green-eyed fiancée so many times they could have used him for a Slinky. Not that it was exactly news, but…

"Oh shut it, Jinsei!" Masato tapped a foot agitatedly, glowering.

"Testy, isn't he," came the sly observation of another blond, strawberry-type, with cat-like green eyes and a smirk hovering around his lips. "Must be suffering from Valentine's day malaise." He tut-tutted, softly, like a doctor about to give a terminal patient the bad news.

"Well what can you expect?" Jinsei chuckled. "Instead of enjoying a proper Valentine's Day pampering, he's stuck waiting in the hubby chair while Makoto's in the dressing room."

"Honestly, I thought he of all people would have it made in the shade on Valentines. You know…that she'd whip him up one of those intimate dinners for two that she can do with her hand tied behind her back, and then one of those Better-than-Sex, Death-by-Chocolate cakes or something for dessert. Yet here he sits, long past supper. Alone. With the bags. And her purse. So sad."

"Yes, I agree. It's sad. Very, very sad." Stylishly coiffed waves danced as Zenjirou, after nodding gravely, threw back his head and laughed.

"You shut it too!" Masato glared at the shorter and slighter of the two men. Alone was looking good just then.

Both blonds considered, then rejected the suggestion, having decided that their friend had not suffered enough. Such an unusual opportunity might not present itself again, so they had to take full advantage while they could. It was practically their duty as men.

"So how long has this little expedition taken already?" asked Jinsei curiously. "Two hours? Three? More? Is Mako buying an outfit to go with each and every pair of those shoes I saw?"

When Masato remained stonily silent, they eyed the bulky pile of shopping bags sitting beside their friend's chair and nodded knowingly, as if there was no question about it. "She is. And worst of all, he's probably stuck paying for it too, as well as playing her personal Sherpa. There's no way that tiny handbag of hers could hold that much cash, after all, even if she could afford it."

Masato eyes snapped with anger at the continued ribbing and he stared broodingly at the blonds, biting his tongue. The blonds exchanged an amused glance that was as good as a high five. Masato was so easy to provoke sometimes, that it hardly seemed a challenge. But it was always great sport.

"You know," Zenjirou snickered, poking his victim in the shoulder until he grunted. "On Valentine's Day it's the _girls_ are supposed to give the gifts, 'Sato. Candy and flowers and whatnot. Everyone knows that. Even Jinsei knows it."

"Right. Well you're both _here_ instead of with Ami and Rei, so what does that say about you two?" Masato fired back, no longer able to hold his peace. "Or did they finally come to their senses and drop you two jackasses."

Zenjirou smiled that utterly insufferable little smirk that had always made Masato want to smack him. "Are you kidding? Even with her busy schedule, my dear Ami-chan spent most of today with me. She made me chocolate truffles with her own sweet, loving, talented little fingers. Truffle kisses with amaretto liqueur, per request." He smacked his lips and purred. "You know what they say about candy being dandy, but…"

He licked the tip of his thumb with a feline gesture, as if savoring the taste of nibbling chocolate from Ami's hand. "I'd still be enjoying them, except that Jinsei here showed up without calling first, – he snorted irritably– "and begged for my expertise in picking out personal electronics."

When Masato frowned, confused, he elaborated. "Rei, who for some reason had to be out of town tonight, of all nights, gave Jinsei a gift certificate for electronics for Valentines to amuse him. Or keep him out of trouble, more likely. But since we all know he doesn't know a microchip from a mushroom, I took pity on him and her and said I'd help him pick out something decent instead of a piece of junk. After all, even if her family's loaded, there's no sense in wasting Rei's money on any more cra…oooph!"

The condescending tone in Zenjirou's voice had been bound to draw eventual retaliation from Jinsei, and it suddenly had. A hard elbow jabbed the smaller man in the solar plexus, reminding him who was supposed to be on whose side and just who was supposed to being ganged up on. Zenjirou doubled over with a soft woof. He came up rubbing his belly and looking disgruntled.

"Don't pity me," crowed Jinsei, as he puffed out his chest like a peacock. "Let's be clear. Rei and her grandfather just had to go to an unfortunately scheduled retreat to represent the shrine. She'd be here if she could. And if we're telling tales, I believe you said that Ami been called into the hospital on an emergency before I got there." The 'so there' was left unspoken, but hanging in the air just the same.

He glanced back at Masato. "Anyway, my Firebird didn't just give me the certificate. She also had a bottle of fine, robust wine for us to share on her return, and a bouquet of flowers delivered to me with her love. Two dozen roses in my favorite color, Rei red, of course."

"That's a color?" scoffed Zenjirou.

"It is in my world," said Jinsei with a broad grin. "Especially when it matches those sultry lips of hers…and the sexy do-me pumps."

In a moment of rare unity, that comment elicited an eye roll from both of the other men. Some things just didn't need any elaboration.

"The gift certificate for the electronics was wrapped around the bottle's neck, under the bow," concluded Jinsei, with a broad grin of triumph. "Unlike some, my woman cares enough to see that I got something really choice."

"Hey!" sputtered Masato, his nostrils flaring at the implied slur against the extent of his woman's feelings for him. "Mako-chan's giving me a present too…"

"I'm sure she is." Jinsei cut him off, patting Masato's shoulder while assuming a superior look.

"Defensive much?" Zenjirou taunted, tossing his long copper and wheat colored queue back over his shoulder. "We've all seen how gone you are over Makoto. Your being here with that…" he gestured at the girly reticule. "Well, it just proves what we've known all along about who wears the pants in your relationship. You're among friends, so just admit it already."

Masato ground his back teeth and pinched the bridge of his nose. It was just what he'd needed, to be spotted by the pair of idiots. He'd be lucky if Zenjirou didn't put pictures of him with the silly pink purse up on the Internet. With friends like them, who needed enemies?

"Look, one last time for the record, Mako-chan _is_ giving me a Valentine's present. But if doing shopping some special shopping today makes her happy, it's no skin off of my nose. When did this become a game of one-upsmanship, for Gaia's sake?" His grip tightened on the delicate reticule and there was an ominous cracking sound from within, most likely his fiancée's compact unfortunately taking the brunt of Masato's considerable force.

"I've got my reasons for what I do. Reasons which I wouldn't expect you two lightweights to understand."

Zenjirou made a gagging noise and screwed up his face. "I guess next you'll say it takes a real man to hold a purse."

"Would you even recognize a real man if you saw one, Zen?" Masato growled, keeping his voice low. "And why isn't Koichi riding herd on you two lackwits anyh…?" He broke off abruptly as two feminine voices were heard, one letting out a squeal of delight. Through some perverse acoustical fluke, every word therein was funneled to them as if the speakers were right next to them instead of behind closed doors.

"Oooh…perfect! I love how that dark lace looks contrasted against the champagne satin and my skin." A voice, unmistakably Makoto's, drifted out from the dressing room where she was talking with one of the specialty fitters. "It's the same cocoa-mocha color as my fiancé's hair," she admitted, sounding a bit sheepish. "I guess that's why I like it so well."

"I wasn't sure when you picked it out, but I'll have to admit I was wrong. Not everyone could wear those colors, Miss, but they work on you." It was the second voice, evidently that of the store clerk. "Here…let me take that other one from you, so you can do a proper turn before the mirror and really see how this one looks on you, Miss. Shall I put this with the others you've tried?"

"Yes, please. By the way, what color did you call that pale yellow chemise again?"

"Lemon drop, Miss. Or did you mean the lighter one from earlier? The one with the pearl detailing? That was called vanilla crème."

"No. I meant the lemon drop one. Thanks. I'll be taking it, by the way, and this. I think."

There was thoughtful silence for a moment, then a worried query. "You don't think it's too much, do you? I mean, I've already got the dresses and the shoes, the peppermint pink chiffon peignoir set, the caramel satin, and the silk chemise. And now this teddy. I don't want to push it. Tell me honestly…do you think it's too much?"

"Not at all." The clerk was emphatic, no doubt dreaming of the hefty commission check she'd lucked into when she'd approached the beaming brunette on the sales floor. "Every women secretly dreams of having a trousseau like this. You're a lucky woman that your fiancé can afford to buy it for you. He must be a generous and loving man."

"He is." A dreamy sigh wafted out from the fitting room. "And patient too, waiting for me all this time. Without so much as a peep of complaint."

It was immediately followed up by a bad-girl giggle. "Of course, he knows what he likes and he'll be the beneficiary since he's the one who'll be seeing me in it. Anyway, I think this last lot will put the sweet in his Valentine's Day, ne?"

The clerk chuckled wisely. "Some things _are_ better than candy and flowers, Miss."

Makoto laughed. "Isn't that the truth? What the heck. I'll take the lot. But I'll need a larger cup size on the bra set."

"Of course, Miss."

"Oh, and could you bring me some pretty stockings too? Maybe seamed ones…or a fancy pair, with lace. I think they'd just go with this."

"I'll be right back with some, Miss. Excuse me just a moment."

A young saleslady emerged from the fitting room clutching a scandalously brief brassiere of gleaming satin in a warm pale brown that was just the color of fresh honey caramels. She promptly exchanged it, bringing back the proper size and a packet containing a pair of frilly, thigh-high hose. The fitter smiled in knowing fashion and winked at Masato before disappearing through the swinging doors to the changing rooms. "Your young man will love these, Miss," the three men heard her say.

"Oh yes, he certainly will. I've got plans," purred the unseen Makoto's voice once again, making Masato's eyes darken and glaze over for a second or two as he apparently re-visited a very pleasant memory.

The silence was deafening.

Jinsei had frozen, his next jibe having caught somewhere in his throat and died. Crystal blue and green eyes had widened in comprehension. Zenjirou's face was beet red as he swallowed hard, stared down at the carpet, and kicked out at a clothing rack.

Masato sucked in his cheeks and stuck an arm behind his head, reclining against the white lattice covered wall, his expression turning unutterably smug and very, very male.

"You lucky bastard," hissed both blonds, gnashing their teeth.

"As I was _trying_ to say before I was so rudely interrupted," Masato grinned widely, swinging the rosy-hued purse dangling from a fingertip by its thin strap while Zenjirou and Jinsei's eyes followed its rhythmic sway hypnotically, like the pendant of a mesmerist, "Some Valentine gifts are sweeter than roses or candy kisses. And they say good things come to those who wait…"

Lemon drops and peppermints: 6400¥ on Mastercard.

Champagne and chocolate: 5900¥ on Mastercard.

Fancy caramels: 7000¥ on Mastercard.

The look on your woman's face when she realizes what your friends are picturing her wearing (or not): Priceless.

There are some things money just can't buy...

(Author's Note: In Japan men are given gifts, often chocolate, by women on Valentine's Day. A month later on White Day, March 14, is the day when men reciprocate by giving gifts to the women. And to all the infinitely patient men who hold the purses…you rock!)


	35. Something To Talk About

"I'm very sorry to have to tell you this, Ms. Hino, but your grandfather's condition is…not good. He is deteriorating."

The senior physician coughed softly and shifted from foot to foot, feeling uncomfortably like a naughty child under the intense gaze of his patient's granddaughter. Those dark violet orbs seemed to burn into the very depths of his soul.

"Tell me." Her voice was eerily calm.

"Despite our best efforts, he has lapsed into a coma. And you already know about his heart. He _is_ a very old man, and has been failing for some time, Ms. Hino. Sometimes the aged simply get to a point where they no longer want to live." The doctor glanced regretfully back at the door to Room 301.

"What about surgery?"

He shook his head. "If he were stronger, perhaps. But as weak as he is now, he'd never survive it. I'm very sorry. We have done everything we can to make him comfortable. He is breathing on his own and he does not appear to be in any pain, but I believe you need to prepare yourself for the possibility that his time is slipping away. I fear it's only a matter of days."

The doctor waited for the flinch, the denials and the tears, but they never came. The curiously self-possessed young woman simply stared him down, though the color did drain from her cheeks, leaving her looking like a beautiful but bloodless wax doll. "I see. Thank you, Doctor Fumio."

Although he had done everything medically possible for the old priest, the doctor was left with the sense his performance had been wanting. Somehow he should have done something more. Beads of sweat broke on his forehead, leaving him clammy and damp. "If you like," he offered awkwardly, "I can call your fa…er…the senator. I'm sure he can make arrangements."

"Thank you, no," Rei answered grimly, her lips tightening. "I will see to matters and return as soon as possible. Good day, doctor." She bowed and turned away, gliding with preternatural quiet past the nurse's station.

The physician slumped against the counter of the nurse's station, mopping his brow and wondering if his ulcer was about to act up. He popped an antacid tablet, hoping it would calm the churning in his stomach. Notifying families that someone was dying was the worst. This had been worse still.

One young nurse, brand new to the ward and swiftly becoming a particular favorite of the male patients and interns due to her buxom good looks, peered down the hall after Rei, shaking her head in disgust. "Unbelievable. Not a single tear shed. Like the news never touched her. I swear, I believe it's a mercy her grandfather is comatose and doesn't have to know how she reacted, because that Hino girl is the coldest, most unfeeling person I have ever seen."

The nurse's voice was carrying, but a slight stiffening of a regal spine was the only sign that the target of the nurse's bile-filled words had overheard them. They couldn't see the tears that stung and left her eyes bright with pain.

The doctor turned to peer in disbelief, while the Head Nurse harrumphed and eyeballed her newest charge with sudden distaste. "Nurse Chika, your name may mean wisdom, but I begin to doubt that you possess much of it, nor compassion or professionalism. Though you've been here not a week, you speak of what you clearly do not know, and that makes me question your fitness to be on this ward."

The nurse went white at the rebuke by the head of her department. "I…I just…"

Her supervisor continued, cutting off her stuttering attempts to explain. "As a matter of fact, that cold young woman whom you so casually condemned gave up her college education to care for her grandfather when he fell sick. Since he has been hospitalized she has been single-handedly running his temple, and spending nearly every other available minute here. Does that sound like a woman who does not care about her grandfather's wellbeing?"

"No," answered a much chastened Nurse Chika in a tiny, subdued squeak. "I'm sorry."

Just then one of the patient buzzers went off. Nurse Chika, her cheeks now flaming in embarrassment, fled to see to it. The Head Nurse harrumphed and picked up the telephone which had started jangling insistently. Evidently whatever she heard displeased her, for she hopped to her feet, grabbed a clipboard and took off at a brisk trot. An earnest young intern waved to garner Doctor Fumio's attention for a consult and, hearing the details, he set off with him.

And in all the sudden rush of activity, not even in a city of dark haired, dark eyed people, did anyone notice the azure-eyed, blond man in the lab coat stealthily entering Room 301 and shutting the door behind him.

Jadeite thrust his hands deep into the pockets of his recently appropriated white jacket, and stared down at the small, wizened figure in the bed. One small part of his mind was fixed on holding the illusion he'd cast, that the door to the private hospital room was still wide open, misty morning light filtering from it out into the hallway. The rest of his attention, though, was fixed on the figure of the diminutive patient.

The old man's face was well lined, a lived-in, worn face that bore the deeply carved marks of many years of both joy and pain. Against the crisp white sheets, his thin, tissue-like skin seemed, to Jadeite's eyes, to be an unhealthy grey color. On one bony fingertip was clipped a sensor, constantly monitoring his hemoglobin. Thin rubber tubing wrapped around his ears and across his face to the prongs of a nasal cannula, delivering additional precious oxygen. Jadeite, could hear the faint, nearly inaudible hiss of the gas. The only other sound in the room was the steady beep of the heart monitor.

"So you're the reason Rei disappears every day and comes back looking like she's been chewed up and spat out, but won't talk about it." Jadeite winced. Even to his ears, his voice was loud in the quiet room.

He tried again, more softly. "I don't even know why I'm here, but I felt like I had to come. So I hope you don't mind. If Rei knew I was here, though, she'd probably smack me with her broom and then light my head on fire."

There was, of course, no answer to that. Jadeite plunged on, words spilling out of him in a sudden gush.

"This is killing her. I heard what the doctor said, and it's killing her. I just hope you know how much she cares for you, old man. There's only one other person on this planet she cares for as deeply. And no…" He dropped into a bedside chair, raking his hands through tumbled locks of dark gold. "…I'm not so egotistical to think that includes me."

The young man let out a bitter bark of laughter, staring out the window, his blue-green gaze stark, pain-filled. "I'm being allowed to stay on sufferance. A trial basis to see if I can retain my heart and soul. Apparently she doesn't remember that I gave her the former a lifetime ago and she's had it ever since. Hell…even when I didn't remember her, I was drawn to her. Those haunting, blue-violet eyes…"

His voice trailed off as he glanced back at the too still figure in the bed. It seemed so wrong to see him reduced to such.

"I remember you too. You were strong and full of life. Always smiling and laughing and flirting with the pretty girls at the temple. There's one nurse here you'd love." His voice dropped to a conspiratorial male whisper and he held both hands out over his chest expressively. "Built like a brick…well, you know."

"Of course, you'd probably not like her so much if you knew what she said about Rei."

Jadeite grimaced. "I know it was just ignorant words, but it still made my blood boil to hear it. I'm pretty sure it would have pissed you right off too. After all, nobody messes with your precious grandbaby, right?"

"Even though she was scarcely more than a child, I wanted her as a woman. I don't know for sure, but I might have even tried to take her, except I knew enough to keep my fingers off Rei while you were around. And you were always around, guarding her even when she didn't know it. I bet if you'd had the first clue what I was up to back then, you'd have killed me. Or at least tried."

"Even if she could take care of herself…and Ares knows she can do that in spades…nobody was allowed to hurt your precious girl. Especially not the sneaky sonofabitch who was also ruining the reputation of your temple with his little plots and intrigues. I always wondered if you suspected me like she did."

Jadeite let out a gusty sigh of self-disgust. "Well…you'd have been right to. I was a first class bastard. Then, anyway. I'm still shocked Rei didn't take me out this time around, since she's more than got the power now. I'd say she was mellowing, except that I know better." A wry grin twisted his lips and he rubbed a spot just above his eyes, remembering the sting of enchanted holy parchment and the flash of violet-eyed fire. "She got her licks in, though. And an extra one or two for you, I think, even though she said it was for messing up your collection of scrolls."

"Anyway, for whatever it's worth, I'm truly sorry. I can't tell you how sorry. Not for having feelings for Rei…I'm only human, after all and she's a goddess in her own right…but for the pain I put you both through. Not that I got away unscathed. I can't even stand to look at a crystal these days. Spending nearly a decade in solitary confinement gives a man a lot of time to think where he went wrong, you know? But at least it broke the web of a spell I was trapped in before I died. I'm not the same man I was then. And thank Gaia for that."

The younger man's voice was thick now with emotion. "I wasn't lying when I said I loved Rei. I still do. I just don't know exactly how she feels about me. She used to love me once, before everything fell apart. Even though I don't deserve it, maybe, if I'm lucky and the gods are kind, she will again."

He stroked the little priest's atrophied arm, careful not to dislodge the IV that poked from his crepe-thin skin or to disturb any of the electronic leads that strung out from the old man's sunken chest to various pieces of medical equipment.

"If we ever have a son, I'd want to name him after you. Isn't it funny? I say that and I don't even recall what your name is. But I think Rei'd like that. And if we were to have a girl, I'd try to protect her like you did Rei…thanks for that, by the way. And she'd wrap me around her little finger, looking up at me with her mother's purple pansy eyes. But I'm sure you know what that's like."

"She's nigh on invincible when she's doing her flaming warrior goddess routine, but when she's quiet, lets herself be vulnerable, it's those burning eyes that get you every single time," he breathed. "Especially when she cries."

A sudden sweat broke out on Jadeite's forehead. It was taking a lot of energy to keep up the illusion now, and he could feel his power wavering. There was no way he could keep it up indefinitely. "I have to go now," he said.

He reached down and, carefully avoiding the leads trailing from it, took the old man's hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. The heart meter blipped on, its rhythm unbroken. "I don't know if you can hear me or not, but if you can, I can promise you this much. No matter what happens, I'll take care of Rei. To the best of my abilities and for the rest of my life, however long it may be. This I swear to you. And she will always, always be loved."

Wistfully he added, "For both your sakes, I just wish you could be there to see it…"

And then, with one final squeeze of the elder Hino's hand, insubstantial as a shadow, Jadeite slipped from the old priest's room and disappeared into the maze of hospital corridors.

Perhaps ten minutes later several alarms from within the room began to shriek signifying the loss of crucial vital signs. The nearest nurse darted into the room with a crash cart, expecting to have to declare a Code Blue. She was hoping against hope to save the man, as it might be the only apology she could offer his grandchild for her earlier slander.

Thirty seconds later her outraged shriek rang throughout the ward and she burst from the room, holding in one hand a number of electrical wires and electrodes that had previously been attached to her patient, and rubbing her well-pinched posterior with the other. But Nurse Chika had critical news to report.

Against all odds the perv…er…patient in Room 301 had awakened and definitely appeared to be on the road toward a complete recovery. Evidently he'd decided he had something to live for.

(Author's Note: A little look backward, set sometime between 'Coffee Klatsch' and 'Justice'. Jadeite had a few things that needed he needed to say.)


	36. Wings

"Oooph!"

For the umpteenth time that hour the boy sat down hard on the ice as his wobbly legs seemed to twist in on themselves, sending him sprawling gracelessly backward. Feeling the little slivers of ice dig through his pants, only to melt on contact with his skin, Sanjouin Masato growled. He was cold, clammy, bruised and definitely not happy. He growled again at the sight of several of his so-called friends whizzing away, laughing and catcalling as they left him behind.

"Bakas," he snarled under his breath. "Jerks! We just weren't meant to balance on frozen water on a pair of razor blades. It's not natural.."

And to him it certainly wasn't. He didn't just feel as uncoordinated as a stumbling calf on the frozen rink…he actually was that bad. His arms and legs, which moved so well together in the dojo or on the playing field, turned into the clumsy wooden limbs of a marionette when he was on the ice. But some malevolent imp was pulling the strings in all directions except where he wanted to go.

"Are you okay? Are you hurt?" chirped a feminine voice.

"No," he grumbled testily. The inquiry, though, had him shoving the mass of longish nut brown hair –his strict grandfather was always riding him to cut it and he refused out of pure stubbornness– out of his face to glance upward. For a moment he saw nothing but the brightness of the overhead lights, gleaming like stars from the industrial mesh ceiling, but slowly a pair of bright glen green eyes, wide with concern for him and peering at him from beneath a heavy fringe of bangs, was revealed as his eyes adjusted to the light.

An unruly tangle of sorrel curls, held back by a bright teal blue knit headband, framed the small heart-shaped face. It was, he realized, a girl who had to be at least several years younger than himself, no more than seven or eight years of age, who was standing over him. He thought he'd seen her earlier, twirling in the center of the rink as confidently as if she owned it. She was, however, currently biting her lip and looking anxious.

"Do you need me to call the 'tendant, then?" she asked, looking still more worried and jerking her head toward the booth where the ice rink's teen ticket takers sat in heated comfort and did their best to ignore all happenings on the ice. "Did you hit your head?"

"NO!" he insisted, the retort coming out a good deal more heatedly than he intended. He only realized how gruff he must have sounded when the girl flinched and jerked backward, wobbling uncharacteristically on her own tightly laced white skates.

'Great,' Masato thought disgustedly, praying she wouldn't cry. 'I scared a little kid.'

"Sorry," he muttered, waving a hand, grateful at least to get it up off the ice since it was feeling more than a little chill. Unfortunately, so was his backside, which felt like it was going numb. "I didn't mean to… I'm just no good at this skating stuff is all."

A bit hesitantly, like a fawn scenting the air for danger, she glided cautiously forward. But when she was back at his side, she held out a hot-pink gloved hand for him to take and grinned, revealing an adorable gap-toothed smile which marked her as even younger than he'd first guessed.

She was stronger than she looked too, he realized, as he grabbed her hand and she tugged him up onto unsteady feet.

"I'll show you," she announced earnestly. "Take both my hands and follow me."

Not waiting for him to do so, she grabbed his other hand in her own and began gliding backward on the ice.

"Hey," Masato protested shakily, though he wouldn't let go, knowing that he'd be back sitting on the ice again in an instant if he did. "Waitaminute…"

"Don't worry, I won't let you fall." The little girl's face screwed up in an expression of disgust as she surveyed his efforts. "You're doing it wrong. No wonder you slipped. You're too stiff. Just let your ankles move a little. Do what I do." Still moving backward, she wove a wavy little pattern with her feet.

Clumsily, Masato tried to copy the girl, staring past the ruffled turquoise flare of her skating skirt toward her pristine, silver bladed white boots. His own clumsy brown rentals couldn't seem to quite manage it, and he heard her give an exasperated little sigh as she scolded him.

"Don't just try to walk on the ice, silly. You'll fall."

For reasons he couldn't explain Masato felt compelled to mumble an apology for disappointing her.

"You're thinking 'bout it too much," she chided. "Just glide…" Her voice had gained a certain dreamy quality, as if she was off in another world where he could not follow, no matter how he much he might wish to do so.

Unexpectedly, she gave his arm a tug and reeled him in as he all but fell forward. Steady and supportive as an oak, she drew him out away from the boards, bearing up his weight on her small yet sturdy shoulders. Almost in spite of himself, he glided, the blades of his skates carving a crisp white squiggle on the frozen surface beneath him. She grinned in triumph, revealing her missing top front teeth once again.

Slowly they found their rhythm and as a brisk cool breeze blew across his face, Masato started to understand why people might actually like to strap metal blades on their feet and head out across the frozen wastes. It was kind of exhilarating not to be falling constantly on his butt, even if it was also kind of embarrassing that a first grader could skate rings around him…and backward, no less. Still, she knew what she was doing and was keeping him safe enough and upright. If any of his friends gave him a hard time, he'd just claim to be looking after _her_ instead. When she winked at him he colored, realizing to his chagrin that she seemed to know what he was thinking but didn't care.

"I saw you out there," muttered Masato, stunned he had, under her tutelage, somehow managed to both coordinate his feet and speak at the same time. "You're really good. You can jump and everything."

The little girl preened. "Thank you. I love skating. It's kind of like dancing sometimes…or maybe flying, I think, without wings."

Masato winced as his ankles quivered slightly under the strain of staying upright on the slick surface. "I think maybe I was meant to stay on the ground."

She giggled at that, and her fern colored eyes twinkled merrily. "You'll learn," she said with a comical sage manner completely unbefitting her youth. "Then you'll find your wings."

"Maybe," temporized Masato uncertainly. "But I don't think I'll ever be as good at it as you. I bet you could be in the Olympics one day. I can just picture you out there, your hair bouncing in a ponytail as you spin and jump and win a medal."

Makoto brightened, upping the wattage of her already brilliant smile. "That would be great. I bet I'd be able to do all kinds of triple 'an quad jumps, even though my silly coach," –she wrinkled her nose then, twitching the faint little cinnamon sprinkle of freckles there– "says girls can't 'cause we're too weak. But I'm strong and I just know I can."

She looked so determined, her jaw jutting out pugnaciously, that Masato grinned and risked letting go of her hand to reach out and tweak one of her coppery ringlets. "I bet you do it too. You're a live wire, you know."

"Papa says that too sometimes," the girl mused. "He says my coach is just unen…unenlightened. But Mama says he really came over with the last ice age instead," said Makoto in the surreptitious yet sing-song tones of a child repeating something she wasn't supposed to have overheard, but had. She swiveled her ankles in a quick modified figure eight and sighed. "I hope I get a new one soon."

"Come on, honey, it's time to go," called a woman's voice, which had his little friend's head whipping around. Masato followed the direction of the girl's gaze across the rink, his own finally coming to rest on a tall, pale lady with hair the color of a bright ten-yen piece pulled up in a topknot revealing ears which were slightly reddened from the cold.

He blinked owlishly as, for the barest fraction of an instant, he saw behind her the eerie image of a thickly branched evergreen tree, its dark boughs dripping sadly with blood colored berries, an hourglass nestled among its roots, its sands almost run out. Had he not been clinging to her child's hands, he would have rubbed his eyes. Somehow, in defiance of the arena's frigid air, he broke out in a sweat even as he shivered, not from the cold, but from a moment's total unease.

"Do I have to, Mama?" The barest hint of a whine tinged Makoto's tone and she had scrunched up her nose in distaste at the idea of leaving. "It can't be time yet…"

The petulant sound distracted Masato from his disturbing musings and the gloomy image shredded away. As he'd never seen anything quite like it before, he finally decided he must have been daydreaming. The fact he even could do that and still stay upright only increased his admiration of his young skating tutor.

"Yes, it is, and yes, you do. Say goodbye, sweetie," the woman was telling her little daughter with exaggerated patience, holding up a coat that sported a jaunty sailor collar which, to his admittedly limited fashion sense, seemed in some odd way to suit her much more than the high necked skating dress.

"We've spent enough time at the rink for today between your lesson and the free skate. We've got to pick up your father so we can get packed for our flight tonight and drop you at the Iansha's. Anyway, I know Shinozaki will be eager to see you. And his parents said they'd see you got to your skating lessons each day we're gone."

"Yay!" squealed Makoto, letting go of Masato's hands to clap her own and giving a happy little leap that made him sway drunkenly, yet he still grabbed for her instead of the railing. "I can't wait to show Zaki-kun how I can jump now." She turned back and smiled brightly at Masato, chattering her explanation breathlessly.

"Sorry, but Mama says I've got to go. She and Papa are flying to Hokkaido to check out a new coach for me and they can't be late. Keep pract'cing. Byeeeeeee!"

Without any further backward glance she spun away from him with a speed that had Masato gasping, and zoomed away across the ice like a bright blue-green butterfly in swift flight, her short skating skirt ruffling in the breeze. And then, like that very butterfly, just for the giddy thrill of it, she dug in a toe pick and made a graceful, soaring leap skyward. Masato watched in wonder as she whirled in space for a long moment, poetry in motion.

In the instant before his feet slid out from under him, dumping him alone on the hard ice once more, he breathed. "Even without wings, she really can fly…"

(Author's Note #1: The tree with the red berries that Masato (Nephrite) saw behind Mako's mother was a yew tree, an ancient symbol of death, as is the hourglass. A spooky start to the first hint of his seer powers in this life.)

(Author's Note #2: I like doing the mushy kid one shots. Next one up will probably be Rei and Jadeite's, inspired by the opening credits from the SuperS movie.)


	37. The Battle

It had been a short, tempestuous, hard fought battle, but it was drawing to a close. It wouldn't be long now.

The coolly dispassionate side of his brain could not help but be impressed. It truly was amazing how, even racked with suffering and sweating blood, a senshi could still keep her fight about her. As a warrior, he could respect that.

Her face was alternately grey-white with pain and flushed beet red as the tears slipped from pain-filled violet eyes and trickled down her cheeks to mat her raven mane. She was in agony.

"How could you?" she demanded furiously, her world narrowed to his face and his alone and the pain that swelled and ebbed like a bloody tide. She made a wild swing at him, shrieking, her voice hoarse and raspy from earlier cries, "This is all your fault, Jadeite!"

He expected she'd be screaming accusations at him until she died. A certain grim amusement at that fact had Jadeite's mouth twisting into a cynical parody of a smile as he blandly agreed with her. "Of course it is..."

That pissed her off even more and she swung again. "Damn you to the fiery Pit!"

That was Mars, alright. She never was one to go down alone if she could take someone else with her. He let out a bark of laughter as he dodged her blow, then reached for her. The pain knifed through her body and she let out a howl that made his ears ring.

"Kami how I hate you! Don't you touch me!" she panted furiously, writhing, but to no avail. His grip was as iron, not faltering, even when her nails bit deeply into his skin, gouging bloody crescent moons in the flesh. "They're coming for me!"

"They won't make it in time." He pulled out his dagger, holding it up to the light. The finely honed, razor edge of the blade gleamed wickedly, though not as wickedly as his smile, which was that of a fallen angel. "This has been amusing, but I believe it's time to finish this."

"Jadeite!"

She cried out his name in a wrenching scream as the knife lowered to end it all. And then, with one quick, final slice it was done. 

When her appalled rescuers, Sailors Jupiter and Venus, arrived and forced open the doors, it was, they found, too late. She lay unnaturally quiet and still, her eyes closed, lashes like fans of raven feathers against her pale cheeks. 

Beside her knelt the bloodied and battered, but triumphant king, wrapping something in his cape. His battle prize. 

He turned slowly to face them and, as one they lunged forward and gasped.

"Boy or girl?"

A grin so wide it nearly sprained the Shitennou's cheeks spread across his face. He held out the cape-wrapped bundle so that they could see the little, red, wrinkled face nestled warm and snug within. A wild tuft of moist hair, the same ink dark shade as its mother's, was plastered against the babe's forehead, but the child's eyes burned with brilliant aquamarine fire. 

"Girl. Ten perfect fingers. Ten perfect toes. And mother and baby are both doing fine."

From her spot on the floor, Rei groaned, rubbing her belly as her lashes finally fluttered open. The bruised-looking shadows beneath her eyes were almost as purple as her irises. She'd clearly been through a trauma and was exhausted. "Speak for yourself, Jadeite. Kami, but that hurt. No wonder it's called labor."

Venus and Jupiter let out cries of delight, dropped to their knees, and hugged one another, Jadeite, Rei, and the new heiress apparent to the Martian throne, cooing over the last, "She's so beautiful!"

"She's like her mother." Jadeite gave his spouse a tender look, brushing back her tangled, perspiration soaked, obsidian locks with one hand. 

"She's going to be an only child," Rei swiped away his touch with an irritable snort, "because you're never touching me again, you randy goat!"

He burst out laughing at that and his wife's face went red as she heard the knowing titters around them. Proudly he announced, "I cut the cord."

"It looks like you did fine, papa," Jupiter announced, patting the man on the back. "I guess it's a good thing you read all those books on delivery and childbirth."

The pony-tailed brunette rose, grinning from ear to ear. "I'll spread the news. Serenity-sama's got to be on tenterhooks waiting for word."

"Take them both to the infirmary so that Lady Mercury can examine them. She's got the beds ready and waiting," Venus quickly ordered one of the gaggle of medical techs, who had been standing by. The white-clad man gave a brisk nod and began readying his stretcher for mother and child. 

"Did you hear Jupiter call me papa?" Jadeite grinned goofily down at the infant in his arms, struck by the wonder of being a new father, then leaned over to buss his wife on the lips. "You did good, Firebird. We did good."

Rei smiled weakly, still feeling as if she'd been run over by a motor transport. "Maybe…but next time I give birth, I swear it's going to be with Ami attending and a whole glorious pharmacy of pain-relieving drugs at my disposal. Not stuck in some blasted palace elevator with you as the midwife from hell!"

"So you admit there's going to be a next time?" He gave her a cocky smirk, waggling his dark golden eyebrows in a comical fashion. There was also a decided swagger to his stride as he stepped back to allow the EMTs access to her. "I guess that means you've changed your mind and decided I _will_ be allowed to touch you again."

As she was loaded onto the stretcher, Rei's only response was a single expressive but very un-Mars like hand gesture. 

Her husband could only laugh at her rudeness. "Give yourself six weeks and a medical sign off from Ami, Red, and it's a date!"


	38. Behind Closed Doors

'_And when we get behind closed doors _

_Then she lets her hair hang down,_

_And she makes me glad that I'm a man. _

_Oh, no one knows what goes on behind closed doors...'_

"Have you seen the Princess Serenity?" the Prince of All Terra asked a maidservant who was busily wiping down one of the long dining tables in the Great Hall.

The startled maid spun about, then dropped an awkward curtsy. Her face was flushed with excitement at being, for the first time ever, face to face with the handsome prince, not to mention his men. It was disappointing then, that she did not have better news for her lord the one time he deigned to speak with her personally. Slowly she shook her head as she tried to find her tongue.

"I'm sorry. I don't work that wing of the palace, your highness."

She noted the prince's dark expression and thought quickly. "But if I may be so bold, I think I saw the cook's assistant taking a fancy tray of tea upstairs not long ago. With five cups. So at this hour she's most likely in the Queen's Solar with the other ladies, I should think."

The prince nodded. "I see. Thank you." He flipped a coin to the little maid who stared at it in disbelief for a second, then bobbed another wild curtsy. The small gold piece was more money than she'd ever held in her life.

"Thank you, your highness…"

When the men arrived in the South Wing, the maid's prediction proved most correct. They hesitated outside the door, not sure if they should intrude. It had been a long time since the sound of a woman's voice, let alone several, had been heard in the Queen's Solar, but it was still a room for ladies only. Within the room, which had once been Endymion's mother's special hideaway before she passed, though, they could hear the clink of china cups and the sound of feminine voices raised in conversation.

"Oh, I just love him!" Verity Lita, the crown princess of Jupiter, was gushing at the moment. "His long hair is so silky and he's got the most soulful eyes, don't you think?"

Nephrite pushed a long, wavy lock of mahogany hair behind one ear and puffed out his chest, proud as a peacock. She loves me, he mouthed in silent satisfaction. It felt good on his lips.

"It's rude to listen. We should announce our presence at once," Kunzite, ever mindful of the proprieties, whispered. He reached for the door handle with one hand, his other upraised to knock.

Four sets of hands immediately shot out and dragged him back from the portal. "Hell no!" Jadeite objected, shooting him a lopsided grin. "Now's our chance to find out what the ladies really think of us. To hear what they say when nobody else is around."

When Kunzite continued to look disapproving, he shrugged. "Consider it a form of reconnaissance."

"Shhhh…" hissed Prince Endymion. "I can't hear."

"Those who listen at keyholes never hear any good of themselves," warned Kunzite, looking somber as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Not true," Nephrite reminded them, looking smug. His lips were quirked in a grin that reeked of cockiness. "I did."

His chest deflated a second later when they heard the Jovian princess add conspiratorially, "Pity he doesn't seem very bright, though. Silly thing. And he's so clumsy when he tries to kiss me. He's earnest, but it just feels so…odd." She giggled as if that confession was the funniest thing in the world.

Nephrite's mouth dropped open and he gasped as if he'd been punched in the belly. He'd actually taken the blow square in the ego instead.

"Ouch." Endymion winced, feeling the hit to his Shitennou's pride as if he'd taken the shot himself. Under his breath he muttered, "Sorry, old man."

"That's okay," a voice that could be identified as Princess Felicity Minya's said brightly. "He's pretty and that's what counts."

Zoisite and Jadeite stared at the floor, shoulders shaking, not daring to look at one another after seeing the outraged look on the North American king's face. They'd have surely both burst out laughing if they had. "My kisses are NOT odd," hissed the brunette defensively. "She told me she loved my kisses."

"Sure she did, Nephrite." Jadeite smirked. There was a mischievous gleam in his azure eyes that was not to be trusted. "Sure she did. Guess the lady wasn't so impressed with your…prowess. At least not as much as you thought."

Nephrite let out a soft growl and lunged for Jadeite, but the wily blond man squirted away, ducking behind Prince Endymion and using him as a human shield.

"Your silver one is awfully handsome, Minya," announced Princess Amity, out of the blue.

Zoisite immediately stopped snickering and shot a dirty look at his commander. Kunzite merely stared back, though he cocked his head to one side, listening intently. Evidently even the mighty Middle Eastern King was not completely immune to the lure of eavesdropping.

"Yes," agreed the Venusian royal with a cheerful chirp in her tone, "He's stunning. And when I stroke his belly, he just purrs. But I don't like it at all when he's naughty and tears my dresses."

"Oh ho," whispered Jadeite under his breath as a curdled red color that on anyone else might have been deemed a blush spread across the normally unflappable Kunzite's cheeks. "What wicked things have you been doing when you were supposedly showing her around the castle and grounds?"

Kunzite glowered icily at the blond king who was still hiding behind Endymion's back. "It is better to be silent and be thought a fool, than to open's one mouth and remove all doubt. I suggest you be silent, Jadeite. Now!" The whiplash of his words came out just above a whisper, but lost none of their threatening quality for their softness.

Even Prince Endymion couldn't help snickering at that. In a low stage whisper he said, "Kunzite told me he was opening relations with the Silver Alliance planets. I didn't know he meant _that_ kind of relations."

"Kunzite," he turned to the man and wagged a reproving finger, "I'm shock…"

He cut off abruptly as the Lunar Princess' voice peeled out. "I just adore mine. Sweet thing."

Holding up his finger, now for silence, Endymion crept closer to the door, a smile on his face. "His hair is so thick and gorgeous and absolutely black as ink. It even makes up for his flat nose."

The Terran prince's hand flew to his face, pressing against the aquiline feature in question. It wasn't really too flat, was it?

"His nose is so flat that it gives him really high B.E.F.," sniffed a lofty dismissive voice that could only belong to Divinity Raye, the princess from Mars.

"B.E.F.?" asked Serenity, sounding utterly confused.

"Beady Eye Factor. B.E.F."

"Well, I think it makes him look cute, but I suppose you're right, Raye." mused the Moon Princess softly as she considered the matter. "His eyes are kind of on the beady side. A little, anyway."

At that the prince's midnight orbs shot wide and he bolted away from the door to peer into a massive looking glass which hung from a decorative carved gold frame on one wall. He kept turning his head, looking at his face from different angles and lifting his eyebrows, first one, then the other, then both together, trying to see the problem.

"Vanity, thy name is Endymion," sighed Kunzite, shaking his head in dismay. "I warned you all."

"And here we always thought that was Zoi's besetting sin," added Jadeite. "Guess not."

"Well, mine has lovely intelligent eyes. Green and without a hint of beadiness at all. You can tell from the look in them that he's the clever one." That was from the Princess Amy.

The European king grinned, twisting the end of his copper colored queue around one fingertip. It was nice to know his lady recognized his mental prowess. He _was_ going to have a word with her, though, about what she'd said about Kunzite, he thought a bit jealously.

"He's the runt of the litter." It was Raye again, blunt as ever. Zoisite scowled as he heard himself compared unfavorably to a shrimp. That rude Aresian might be a princess and a priestess, but she certainly didn't have the mouth of a diplomat.

"He is delicate," agreed Amy, making Zoisite's scowl deepen. "More so, anyway, than the others. He just needs someone to look after him, though, and care for him."

"Well, as long as he's bright, you really don't mind having the puny, spotty one, do you Ames?" asked Lita. She started laughing a second later.

"Puny? And spotty?" fumed Zoisite with a glare at Nephrite, as if it was his fault that the Jovian princess was so opinionated. "I'm not spotty."

"Nope," chuckled the Mercurian princess in answer to her merry friend's question. "I don't care what he looks like so long as he's smart."

The implied slur on his looks from his own woman was too much for Zoisite. He raced over to join Endymion in front of the mirror, checking his skin carefully for any blemishes. "What is she talking about? I'm not spotty. Do you see any spots, Endymion?"

"Shut up, Zoisite," groaned Jadeite. "How are we supposed to hear over your bellyaching?"

As it turned out, there was no chance he could have missed hearing what came next, for Raye's voice was, as usual, more than strident.

"I don't care for any of them. Collectively they're fickle and they seem dumb as milch cows." She paused for a moment, considering, then amended her response. "Well, except for Amy's, perhaps."

"But don't you think he's cute?" inquired Amy.

"No. He's noisy and obnoxious and he's most probably flea-ridden."

"You're entirely too harsh," chided Minya, clucking her tongue.

"He's deaf as a post. It's like talking to a brick wall. When I told him to get away and stop pawing at me, did he hear me? No, he did not."

"But you have to admit he is handsome." The Moon Princess insisted on truthfulness. Facts were facts, after all.

"I admit to nothing."

There was a squabbling like hens from the princesses as they scolded their friend. In spite of everything, Jadeite found himself grinning like an idiot. She'd said the same thing when he'd asked her how she liked his touch. His princess was a sly one, and she burned with a fire that was unmistakable. But though she felt it, she'd never admit to it.

It was for that reason his smile faltered a moment later when he heard her sputter, "Alright…alright. I give up. I admit his eyes could be considered by some a pretty shade of blue." She couldn't resist tagging on a defiant, "But that doesn't mean I think he's cute."

Something was very wrong there. Jadeite knew that a herd of wild horses couldn't have dragged any sort of romantic confession from the Aresian princess' lips in a group setting like that. Not from his Firebird. Not ever.

Probably not in private either, he thought, since she wouldn't want to pamper his vanity that way. He knew that as sure as Gaia brought forth little green apples in springtime. So what in the heck was going on?

Unable to control his curiosity any longer, Jadeite abruptly shoved open the door before any of the other men could raise a hand to stop him.

Jadeite froze in the doorway as he spotted a pair of pale blue eyes and understanding hit him, but was then shoved forward into the room as the other four men plowed into him from behind. "Uh…good day," he said uncertainly as stumbled in and glanced around the room.

The ladies were perched on brocaded chairs and seated in a semi-circle around the fire, save for the Princess Serenity, who was unceremoniously sprawled belly down over the arm of a settee, her rump in the air as she dangled down a piece of pink yarn over the side. A tiny paw shot out from beneath the sofa and whapped at the dancing lure.

At the sound of their less than protocol entrance, however, Serenity let out a soft cry and shot upright, promptly overbalanced, and then fell, tumbling to the floor in a tangle of flailing limbs and airy angel-white silken skirts. She looked shamefaced at her clumsy display and tried surreptitiously to rub her sore backside. How embarrassing!

As soon as she hit the ground, however, she was pounced on by a roly-poly black kitten which had shot out from under the couch. Though it was just a common house-cat, its adorable push-face appearance and long, luxuriant ebon hair proclaimed a regal Persian somewhere in its background, and it was from that ancestor that it had inherited its large, round, marble-like, albeit slightly beady eyes. It, one of the cook's best kitchen mouser's latest litter, nuzzled her cheek and purred, trying to comfort her.

Because gentlemanly behavior had been drummed into him since infancy, somehow Endymion managed not to chuckle as he reached down to give the winningly klutzy princess a hand up. He did, however, enjoy the pink flush that spread across Serenity's cheeks as he eyeballed the little black cat and murmured, "So it seems I have a rival."

Endymion enjoyed Serenity's flustered denials as well.

The Shitennou, save Jadeite, took one look and suddenly felt mortified. Each of the other ladies had a kitten as well.

On Raye's plum velvet covered lap rested a happy-looking, pure white kit with eyes of pale blue. It was looking adoringly up at the scowling Aresian princess and purring extremely loudly, apparently unable to hear itself. Deafness aside, however, it was a handsome feline and Jadeite couldn't help but smirk as he realized how it was that they'd all gotten the wrong idea about the princess' conversation.

He looked so smug that the Princess of Mars couldn't help herself. "What are you staring at, you daft man?" she snapped heatedly, unconsciously stroking and soothing the animal in her lap when it started, feeling her tense.

Jadeite looked from her perturbed red face to that of the kitten, which was now purring with even more gusto and looking content to stay in his warm, soft perch for the rest of his days. He couldn't blame him. "Just envying the fortunate," Jadeite answered Raye.

Her irate sputter was music to his ears.

Sitting on Lita's shoulder was a tiny, long-haired, cinnamon and ginger tabby with wise golden eyes, lapping at her face as though her skin was every bit as creamy as it looked. And every time it licked at her cheek with its sandpaper tongue, the Jovian princess giggled helplessly.

She glanced up at Nephrite in desperation, begging, "Please save me! I think someone replaced the rosewater in my scent bottle with extract of catnip. Cardamom won't stop kissing me."

The North American king burst out laughing. "I know how he feels, m'dear."

Hot color flooded Lita's cheeks and she squirmed, letting out a little squeal as the puss abandoned her cheek and laved the sensitive spot just behind her ear instead. "But it tickles so…"

"Really," was Nephrite rumbled interestedly, filing that little tidbit of enticing information away for future use and not making a single move to save his sweetheart from her fuzzy, spice colored assailant. His tone was ever so faintly predatory as he added, "How very…interesting. Sounds exciting."

"Nephrite!" she wailed, her voice pitching dangerously high as the kitten's tongue rasped over sensitive nerve endings. Evidently the sound hurt baby ears because the tabby flattened them, let out an aggrieved mew, and then began licking the Jovian's princess' cheek once more dragging more weak giggles from her.

Jadeite came out with a very male chuckle of his own. "I bet she hits that note again later on in private."

"Count on it." Nephrite waggled his eyebrows with restored humor as he finally chose to save Lita by plucking the overly affectionate kitten away and replacing its kisses with one of his own. "Mine," he warned firmly as he removed the cat.

"Naughty, naughty Silvertip. I'm going to need a whole new wardrobe if you keep this up."

A sturdy silver-point kitten, the largest of the lot, was twining around Minya's ankles like a puff of smoke, stalking and playing peek-a-boo beneath her skirts. As the Shitennou watched it snagged the fine, hand-stitched trim of her skirts and she scolded it lightly, patiently unhooking little barbed claws from the point lace.

She scooped up the little creature, nestling it against her bountiful bosom, which was well showcased in a rather tightly laced, low-cut, apricot gown, and smiled up winningly at the somber-faced king. "Good afternoon to you, Lord Kunzite."

To her amusement, his cheeks went red at the simple greeting and he seemed hard pressed to tear his eyes away from the sight of the kitten snuggled against her chest.

"Are you blushing?" she demanded as her golden eyebrows shot up to meet her honey blond bangs.

Kunzite harrumphed and said not a word. Inwardly, though, he cringed as she crowed triumphantly. "You ARE! You are blushing! Who knew you had it in you?"

Deciding to give his commander some privacy in that most ignominious moment, Zoisite turned away, coming face to face with the Mercurian princess. In Amy's lap a petite calico, visibly smaller than its littermates, was settling down to sleep and kneading her thigh like the cook did bread dough.

The little cat's pattern of vibrant red and black spots on white marked it as entirely unique amongst its larger, single color siblings. It mustered one curious glance up at the men, then dismissed them as vastly unimportant in the way only a cat could. Giving an enormous (for such a small creature) yawn, it closed its sleepy grey-green eyes, lowered its head, pillowing it on Amy's thigh, and took up its catnap.

"Looks like he knows where it's most comfortable," mused Zoisite aloud, making Amy blush painfully. "You're were right. He _is_ the smart one."

Zoisite was the sudden recipient of four very male glares as four feminine heads whipped up, eyes kindling with sudden accusation and some with no little bit of rage. "You all were SPYING on us?!"

Amy turned a gentle smile on him and unlike the others, her lazuline gaze was calm and serene…almost eerily so. Stroking the sleeping kitten with one finger, she never disturbed it as she spoke. "Zoisite…if you have half even the sense that your Gaia gave this kitten, I think you'd better start running."

He made as far as the stables before they caught him and dumped him in the icy spring-fed waters of the moat.


	39. Two Hearts

"Helloooooo…"

"Helloooooo…"

With customary vim and vigor, Usagi bounced through the door of the Osa-P jewelry store one bright morning, waving wildly at her friend, Osaka Naru, who sat on a tall stool behind the display counter checking inventory sheets.

The petite redhead glanced up and grinned. Between one thing and another she hadn't been out socializing with her old friend in a while and it was good to see her. Still, this was most likely a business matter. She wagged a reproving finger in Usagi's direction. "Silly rabbit. Your order's for the bridal party is still not done. Mama's craftsman, Suzu-san, is still working on it, but it'll be another couple weeks at least."

Usagi, who had ordered custom-designed gemstone necklaces from Naru's mother for all of her bridesmaids, contrived to look hurt. "It would have been nice to get a sneak peek, but that's not why I'm here."

"Oh?" Naru asked, surprised. Then she grinned. "Wait. Don't tell me. Did you decide to buy a new necklace to wear with your wedding gown? Because we've got some gorgeous new ones in."

"Certainly not," Usagi retorted primly, tossing one of her silvery pigtails over her shoulder. "I'm wearing my old locket, just like I promised Mamo-chan I would. I'm sentimental that way."

"Well then what are you doing here? Is it purely a social call?" asked Naru, propping her chin on her fist. "Much as I'd like to, I can't go out for breakfast or shopping, 'cause I'm watching the store today. Mama's off on a buying trip."

"Can't I just come and see my good friends anymore?" tisked Usagi, clucking her tongue. "So tell me, how's your little sis, Naruru? And your mom?"

"Mom's good. Like I said, she's off on a buying trip. Naruru, on the other hand, is loving every minute of high school now that she's there, and grateful as heck that she passed her entrance exams." Naru grinned wryly and scrunched her nose as she continued, "But then we all remember how much fun that period was. Talk about stress."

She got a return nose-scrunching from Usagi, who could practically still hear Ami's lectures on study habits and Rei's on responsibility. "Oh yeah. Back then, I thought I was going to suffer death by nagging from Rei-chan over entrance exams. Frankly, it always struck me as a little unfair, since _she_ wasn't actually going to have to take them. Her school was an elevator school, you know."

Naru tapped a pencil thoughtfully on the counter. She wasn't well acquainted with the priestess from the Hikawa Shrine, but she knew of her. "Well, I'm sure she was just looking out for your best interests, like any good friend." She paused for a moment, then cleared her throat, looking wary. "I hope she's well…and the rest of your friends."

The fact was this conversational turn was dicey territory. Having been thick as thieves with Usagi throughout the preschool and elementary years, Naru had been unprepared when, during Junior High, her bubbly best friend had acquired a whole new circle of friends, including the raven-haired priestess, who had, at least to Naru's mind, cut her out and taken over.

At the time her nose had been more than a little out of joint, jealous thoughts tormenting her. She just couldn't understand what an introverted bookworm, an aggressive Amazon of a tomboy, a rich snooty private school snob, and a blonde-brained, idol-crazed, next-best-thing-to-a bimbo could possibly have in common with her sweet, bubbly former best-friend. And Usagi, suddenly, was never around to ask. The whole situation had left Naru quietly hurting…and seething.

Of course it was only when, during their last year of Junior High, she'd realized just what it was Usagi was doing at night that covered her with bruises and made her so tired in the morning that she fell asleep in Haruna-sensei's class, that Naru's unspoken questions had been answered. Suddenly it all made perfect sense to her why girls of such disparate backgrounds and temperaments had been drawn together. Since the newspapers at the time had been full of accounts of how the Sailor Senshi were risking life and limb saving one another and Tokyo from certain destruction, she, Naru, could hardly be ungracious enough bear a grudge against them. Without their help she might not have even been around to have a best friend to fret over.

And somehow, once she'd come to that realization, the enmity she'd nursed against the four newcomers had faded away. She'd gradually come to understand that no matter how much Usagi loved the other girls (and there was no question that she did), her heart was large and giving enough to still care for her oldest friend just as much as ever. The other girls moved in one orbit, Naru in another, and Usagi traveled between them. It wasn't the same as before, but Naru could be content with what it was.

"Oh, Rei-chan's crazy busy right now," burbled Usagi eagerly. "Her grandpa took sick a while back and she had to take over for him at the temple, but he's recovering at home now. Pinching the pretty nurses and driving Rei-chan buggy, since she's still running things and keeps having to hire new nurses when the old ones quit. Last I heard, she'd threatened to get him a big, hulky Sven of a guy-nurse to keep him in line. Unfortunately Rei's SO objected. Vigorously."

Usagi paused to take a much needed breath and spotted the question in Naru's eyes. Hastily, she explained. "Oh yeah, I forgot to mention it. You'd never believe it in a million years, but man-hating Rei-chan actually fall in love. Jinsei-kun showed up and they were constantly squabbling, but one day they just up and eloped without telling anyone. You should have seen the ring he gave her. A lily carved from white jade and then in the center a single blood red ruby. It was sooooo romantic."

Naru blinked in disbelief at the news. Usagi had once, in confidence, explained to her why Rei seemed so aloof. The rigid, man-hating priestess had serious father issues. Naru could see why Usagi was so shocked. "Wow. Still waters must run deep there. I didn't think she was the romantic type."

Usagi nodded. "I know. But it's kind of going around…romance, I mean. Even shy little Ami's found a guy. Or, I should say, he found her. They met at the library, but even though he's smart, he's really outgoing and keeps her from burying herself in her books. Zen's constantly complaining that she spends too much time at the hospital and not enough with him, but I think he does it because then he can pout and he knows Ami thinks he looks all dreamy and adorable when he pouts.

"I suppose that other boy-crazy friend of yours…Aino Minako, wasn't it? She's still happily playing the field, right?"

Naru remembered the giddy blonde, who whose appearance, save for a different shade of blonde hair, was so scarily similar to Usagi's that they could have been twins. The girl had, one day during High School, apropos of nothing, proclaimed herself the Love Goddess and started a matchmaking club. Such chaos, cat fighting and tears had ensued that the administration had threatened to separate the students into single-sex classes. The matchmaking club had folded due to popular displeasure.

"We-ell…" temporized Usagi, "not exactly. She's taking a full slate of acting classes and doing the rounds of auditions and such, and that keeps her schedule pretty full. Too full, she says, to date. She's got a guy, though, who's after her…an old friend of Mamo-chan's. To be honest, I'm not sure what's going on there, though. Sometimes I think she hates him and other times I wonder if she's just playing hard to get. With Minako you can never tell."

That, Naru privately thought, was the understatement of the world. Out of politeness, she figured she'd better ask after the last member of Usagi's other group of friends. "What about Makoto? Did she ever start that floral shop she wanted…or was it a cake shop." Naru tapped her finger against her lip. "I can't remember which one."

Usagi suddenly looked extremely ill at ease. "Er…she's actually training hard to become a chef now. She hopes to open her own gourmet restaurant some day."

"Well that makes sense," concluded Naru, thinking that, for a known violent tomboy, it actually did make a certain odd kind of sense. "As I recall, she always made the rest of us look bad in Home-Ec, because she knew what she was doing while the rest of us were just in it for the easy grade…not that it turned out to be so easy. I suppose she's too busy working to date too."

"Actually…" Usagi's voice cracked, "that's kind of why I'm here. To talk to you."

"Huh?" Naru looked puzzled. "What do you mean?" What could she possibly have to do with the other woman who'd spent her high school years mooning over a lost sempai and randomly crushing on any boy she in which she perceived a resemblance to the same?

"Makoto met someone recently. An old…um…boyfriend, sort of. Someone to spend her Sundays off with and share with her the sweets she makes…like parfaits. He loves those." She paused for a heartbeat. "I know they're in love. It's pretty serious."

"That's nice for them. But I don't see…"

"He's someone you know," squeaked Usagi, sounding like a balloon leaking air.

Naru sat upright at that. "Really? Was he someone from high school? You can't mean Umino-kun. He went off to study engineering in the States."

The redhead frowned as the unpalatable notion played through her mind. It was an unkind, dog-in-the-manger-ish attitude, she knew, but although she and Umino had split up by mutual consent so that he could go off to school and fulfill the potential they both knew he had, and even though she hadn't heard from him since, she hated to think of him with anyone else.

"Noooo…it's not Umino." Around and around, Usagi twisted her pigtails as she tried to figure out how to ease into the subject. There was no good way.

Suddenly, though, the matter was taken out of her hands. The bell on the store's front door clanged, and the little redheaded shopkeeper glanced up as a male voice rumbled, "Is it okay to come in here yet? Did you explain things, Usagi-san?"

Even though she was seated, the ground seemed to tilt unsteadily beneath Naru at what she saw, a familiar face, ruggedly handsome and framed by a dark russet leonine mane, the strands of which she'd once run through her fingers. Deep sapphire eyes, bright with life, glittered at her. But there was no possible way he could be there in the flesh. And yet…

"N…Nephrite?" Naru whispered weakly, her expressive turquoise eyes widening until they seemed to take up her entire face. "Oh Kami-sama, it can't be."

"Hello Naru-chan. It's been a long time."

He looked awfully discomfited for a ghost, Naru thought hysterically before shock overwhelmed her system and, with a breathy gasp, she passed out cold, slumping forward.

Usagi let out a cry, grabbing Naru just in the nick of time, before the little redhead could messily splash face first through the glass countertop of the display case.

Nephrite scowled. "You know, I'm getting pretty sick and tired of women passing out at the very sight of me. Contrary to what they say about women falling at one's feet, it's not doing anything good for my ego."

Usagi, who was struggling to keep her insensate friend, who was, as dead weight, heavier than she looked, from toppling off her stool, slit an annoyed look in his direction. "Well what do you expect when you insist on coming back from the dead with no warning whatsoever? People probably fainted on Lazarus too, when he pulled off his little resurrection stunt."

Blowing a tuft of bangs out of her eyes, she huffed pointedly, "A little help here, please."

"Give her to me. We can lay her out on the carpet." Nephrite hurried behind the counter, scooping up the redhead as if she weighed nothing at all.

Usagi, relieved to be free of the burden, hopped up and darted through the bead curtain that separated the Osa-P's showroom from the offices, vault, private washroom, and storage areas. A minute later she returned, a damp paper towel in hand.

Good as his word, Nephrite had placed Naru down on the rug, and he had even propped up her feet on a fat binder filled with sales receipts, the better to bring the blood flow back to her head. Dropping to her knees, Usagi pressed the cool compress to her friend's forehead and then began chafing at her wrists and patting her hands. "Come on. Wake up Naru-chan."

Naru let out a groggy moan, her eyelashes fluttering.

"I think she's coming around," said Usagi, glancing up at Nephrite's face and noting the anxiety there. Another faint moan from Naru, though, had her turning her attention back to her friend.

"That's it," urged the blonde, "Open your eyes and talk to us."

"Wha…? What happened to me?" The eyes which Naru finally managed to force open were rounded in confusion.

"You fainted," Nephrite informed her grimly, reaching down to check her pulse. "Are you alright now?"

For a second or two, Naru thought about fainting again. Fact: Nephrite, her first youthful love, was dead. She had watched, horror-stricken as he'd been attacked, and he'd actually taken his last breath in her arms. She'd grieved his murder. Yet somehow here he was before her. It was too fantastic to be real, simply not possible. But his touch was so warm and alive…

"You're alive," murmured Naru wonderingly, curling her hand around his fingers. "But how? I saw you die. That evil blond man's creatures killed you…"

Nephrite grimaced, pulling his hand free and rubbing at his shoulder. "Yeah. It wasn't fun, dying, but since Zoi went through it too, he apologized for that and we decided to let bygones be bygones. All I can say is, he wasn't himself at the time. And he's not evil now…neither of us is."

A bewildered Naru looked over at Usagi for answers, but the future queen was at a loss. She shrugged helplessly, tugging on the trailing silver tails of her hair. Finally she managed an explanation of sorts, though it seemed slightly lame even to her ears. "We wanted to break the news to you so you didn't freak out or panic when you saw the four of them at the wedding or on the street or something."

"Four?" asked Naru, looking blank.

"Uh…Usagi-san, why don't you step outside for a moment and let me see if I can't explain all this."

Even though she knew it was the coward's way out, Usagi took the opportunity to flee the tense scene. As she slipped out the door, she flipped the boutique's Open sign to Closed. Some things required privacy.

Nephrite helped Naru to sit upright, then took a few steps back only to drop down on his haunches so he could be eye to eye with her. "You feeling better?" When Naru nodded dumbly and blushed, he flashed a wry grin. "Good. Don't be embarrassed. Makoto fainted on me too. Must be my native charm."

A tiny hiccup of laughter welled up from Naru at that wise crack. Yet even as she laughed, she could feel the tears welling up in her eyes.

"What's the matter?" asked Nephrite, with a look of concern, snatching up the soggy, discarded paper towel to brush away one of the crystalline drops that overflowed and trickled down her cheek.

Naru sniffled, waving her hands. "Sorry…I don't mean to be a waterworks. It's j…just that I'm s…so happy." Naru sniffled, waving her hands. "I can't b…believe it. YOU'RE ALIVE!"

The brunette man froze as she suddenly she threw herself at him, twining her arms around his chest like a pair of clinging vines as she hugged him fiercely and buried her red head against his chest. Nephrite bit back an urge to groan. If Makoto ever heard of this, she would kill him.

Awkwardly he patted Naru on the shoulder, but when she only tightened her grip on him, he gently but firmly tugged her hands away and gave her a gentle shove backward. Naru gazed at him wide-eyed, looking wounded.

"Why? Why, after you came back to me, did you push me away, Nephrite? I was crushed when you died. I thought it was my fault. Don't you care about that?"

He raked a hand through his hair agitatedly, leaving it raked in a wild, unruly tangle. "I do…it's just that…well…I didn't mean to give you the wrong impression. And then when you hugged me, I didn't know what to say."

Naru's luminous teal orbs blinked uncomprehending. "What IS it that you're trying to tell me?"

His throat worked hard for a moment before he grated out the words. "I'm in love with someone, Osaka Naru." Nephrite saw the giddy light building in her eyes and cursed himself that he would have to be the one to snuff it out. But there was no other choice. Quietly he added. "Someone else."

For Naru, his words were like something spoken through a bad drive-through speaker box. They were slow and garbled and made no sense at first. Finally, however, the yen coin dropped for her. Jealousy of a sort she hadn't felt since middle school welled up hot and burning like acid in Naru's breast.

"Oh sweet kami," she muttered. "Usagi-chan was talking about you, wasn't she? About you and…and…"

She couldn't bring herself to say the man-thieving, auburn-haired, green-eyed hussy's name.

"Yes," said Nephrite after a moment, nodding his head as he let out the breath he'd been holding. "I'm in love with Makoto."

"Bwrhen?"

"What?"

Naru had slumped forward, putting her head down. Her burning cheeks were buried, hidden in her palms, so her question had been muffled. She shifted her hands slightly, but kept her face shadowed, hidden from view.

"When? When did you meet her? When did you fall in love with her?" Her heart's cries went unspoken. _How could you love that ill-tempered, violent, man-trap of a tomboy? What can she have that I don't that draws you to her? I was willing to give you everything. So how could you love HER and not ME?!_

"A long time ago," answered Nephrite shakily, after a long, tense pause. "A lifetime ago. Forever maybe."

"Then why did you…?" the question, begun on a wail trailed off despairingly. He'd said he'd been with a wicked group of people, done wicked things, but she didn't understand how he could have been so cruel as to toy with her heart so. For the first time, Naru felt like she could truly come to hate Nephrite. But she hated Makoto more. It was always easier to hate the other woman.

Nephrite's face fell. "It's…kind of a long story."

Naru's red head came up, eyes blazing as she glared accusingly at the 'Open' side of the sign. "I think we've got the time. I think you owe me an explanation."

Her words drew a weary sigh of resignation from Nephrite. "You're right, of course. I do owe you that much. I'll tell you." He rose and held out his hand for her to take. "It will take some time, though, so please get up and take a seat, Naru…"

"Osaka-san." The stiff, icy formality made Nephrite wince, but he understood its source.

"Osaka-san," he agreed.

Pointedly ignoring his hand, she clawed her own way back up and flounced back to her seat behind the counter from him. She began rhythmically drumming her fingertips on the glass so hard he worried she'd crack the tempered surface. "You may begin."

"Alright…but first, let me say, Osaka-san, that I'm so very sorry I hurt you. I know I caused terrible harm to everyone I touched when we first met, but I'm not the same man now. I just hope that someday you can forgive me."

She stared at him stonily, neither agreeing nor refusing, and continued her drumming.

Nephrite shook his head, looking haunted and, under his tan, pale. "Where to begin? Alright, Osaka-san, since Usagi-san told me in advance that you knew some of this, I'm going to tell you the full story. Some of these things will sound incredible, but I swear to you that every word of it is Gaia's own truth. I lied to you once, but I won't do it again. I just hope you can understand and won't totally hate me when all is said and done. Although, by Zeus, I don't think you could hate me any more than I hate myself…"

In spite of herself, Naru was curious. There was guilt in Nephrite's gaze, and real pain. Deep, heart-scarring pain of a sort that could not be faked. What on earth could have put those there? She coughed into her hand, urging him to get on with it.

"Once upon a time, a long time ago, there was a princess," he began, his voice husky with emotion.

And with that clichéd introduction, he slowly began sketching out the story of the Silver Millennium's rise to glory and its final tragic plummet into history at the hands of a small circle of traitors.

By the time he'd reached the end of the saga, Naru was weeping like a baby. "Oh kami, Nephrite," she sobbed, her shoulders shaking convulsively, "It's so sad. All of you…what that evil witch did to you…to the girls… Horrible. So, so horrible."

Nephrite fished a linen hanky from his pocket, pushing it in to Naru's fist as she sniffled, her nose red and runny. "Take this. And please, don't cry. I'm sorry. After what I did to Lita…Mako-chan, I never meant to make any woman cry again. Cripes!"

Naru, though, dropped the crisp square of linen, grabbing wildly beneath the counter for a box of tissues she knew were there. Grabbing a few out of the box, she blew her nose loudly, then mopped at her brimming turquoise eyes with one hand.

Again Nephrite pressed the handkerchief in her palm. "Please take it, Osaka-san."

Naru hiccupped, muffling the sound as she crammed her fist against her lips. "Ygdrassill…" she mumbled, or something that sounded a lot like it, garnering a helpless, confused blink from Nephrite.

"I beg your pardon?"

"I said…you can call me Naru." Although she still couldn't look him in the eye, she did manage a watery smile. "I understand. And I don't hate you."

A shocked but relieved expression crept onto Nephrite's face. "Truly?"

"Yes. Thank you for telling me the truth."

Naru busied herself, trying to smooth out the hopelessly crumpled and soggy linen of his handkerchief. It was at that moment when she noticed the monogram on it. The intricate woven design, embroidered in jade green floss with the tiniest possible stitches, was almost impossibly complex…far too much so to have been done by a machine.

No, she realized, running a finger over the lines. It had been painstakingly stitched for him by a skilled and loving hand. A hand that didn't mind suffering through such a tedious task when it was for that one's beloved. Naru knew just whose hand had held that needle.

"She sewed this for you, didn't she?" Naru said, retracing the design again. It wasn't really a question. "Makoto…she really loves you. And you her."

"Yes." Nephrite's raspy voice was heavy with emotion. "She's always had my heart, even when my mind was so caught up in Beryl's witch spell that I couldn't have told anyone my own name without checking with her first."

Naru's chin quavered. "W…was it all a lie. Was it just for my energy? Did you have no feelings for me then?"

"I…oh hell…" Nephrite groaned. "Naru, it did start out as a lie. I realized you had a crush on me and did manipulate it for my own ends, I'm sorry to say. I was using you to curry favor with Beryl. Back then I was so lost, but I didn't think I needed anyone or anything other than perhaps the approval of my…queen." He practically spat the last word, screwing up his face in disgust.

"I see." Her voice was soft, resigned.

He reached out a finger, gently tipping her head up until her gaze could meet his. "But you were the first person who began to crack the icy shell Beryl had put in place around my heart, Naru-chan. You cared so much that it confused me. I couldn't understand it. But something in me wanted to try. So even when I realized you couldn't possibly know what I was seeking, I continued to push, trying to figure out what it was you saw in the twisted, cold, shell of a man I knew myself to be."

Lines of had begun to fatigue crease his brow. "What I regret more than anything, though, about that time, is that it put you right in the line of fire. I had no right to do that to you, Naru, and I apologize again."

He rubbed his temples, which were, by this time, throbbing. "For what it's worth, Naru, I think that in you I saw the same sort of light that originally drew my heart to Makoto's. You're both amazing women."

"But I'm not the other half of your soul," Naru whispered, "and she is."

"She's my soulmate. My whole universe. My destiny."

_I wish I were someone's soulmate…that I believed I had a destiny..._

When only silence met his words, Nephrite looked down at the petite redhead, who had begun wiping at the fingerprints she'd left on the glass surface of the counter earlier. Round and round she went, as if trying to find meaning in the circles.

"You found someone else, though, after I was gone, didn't you? Usagi-san vaguely mentioned someone..."

Naru nodded hesitantly, pausing for a split second in her counter cleaning. She really did not want to discuss Umino. "We broke up. He went away."

Abruptly Nephrite began pacing around the small store, looking at the jewelry, carefully perusing each stone. Finally he found what he was looking for.

"May I hold that one for a moment, Naru?" he asked, pointing down at a sapphire pendant with a polished cabochon stone.

"I guess." She unlocked the cabinet and pulled out the piece, dangling it by its gold chain. Her voice was dull, lifeless as she added. "It's a star sapphire."

"Perfect," he replied, accepting it from her with a hint of a grin playing about his lips. His eyes were dancing now, an almost perfect match to the stone. He held it up high, rocking it back and forth in his palm until he caught sight of the distinctive 'star' of reflected light, a phenomenon known as asterism. He stared deeply into the heart of the stone until Naru, who had watched in reluctant fascination, was almost dancing on the edge of her seat, wondering what he was doing.

Finally he placed the pendant back on a black velvet tray that she held out to him. Unable to control herself another second, she blurted out, "What was all that about?"

Rather than answer her question directly, Nephrite just smiled with a vexingly enigmatic twist of his lips and patted Naru on the hand. "Have faith. Your soulmate, Naru…your Umino is counting the days until he returns. He wants to ask for your hand. I think, though, he frets that you'll find someone else before he can. And it seems he's a little uncertain about whether, having grown up amid all these gems, that you'll find the one he can afford enough."

She gasped. "How did you know his name? How do you know any of this?"

If possible, Nephrite's grin grew even larger. "A little star told me."

She would have taken a Crackerjack prize ring from Umino, Naru thought dizzily, her head spinning, if only he had asked her to join him in America, but instead they had calmly and quietly broken up…for the best, they had said. She'd been too scared of being hurt to fight for the relationship she wanted…and had consequently lost it. She'd tried to hide the hurt, claiming she just wasn't cut out for romance. But now Nephrite was saying that wasn't necessarily so. Did she dare to hope?

Before she could do more than blink and attempt to try to digest that information, he leaned over the counter and brushed a whisper soft kiss on her forehead. "Take care of yourself, Naru. Don't give up a chance for true love because you can't let go of the faded memories of a childish crush. The real thing is worth fighting for. Treasure it…each hour is golden, each moment is precious as a diamond. And if you don't believe me, just take the time to look in his eyes and you'll find the truth there."

He was halfway out the door when Naru finally managed to find her tongue.

"Wait!" Naru suddenly called out, pulling out a lined tray from beneath the counter. "If you really love Kino-san, then you're going to have to marry her, you know, Nephrite. Even we amazing women still need the reassurance, the security of knowing you mysterious-minded guys care enough to ask us to make a commitment. So you'll need one of these."

He had turned back to face her and she held out the tray, smiling sweetly as she placed the merchandise before him, pointing to the top-most piece. "We have plenty of others, but I think this one here would suit her best."

Nephrite couldn't help but grin as he surveyed the offering. "Yes. You're absolutely right. And think I will be requiring it. Thank you, Naru."

There in the top center slot of the tray sat a rare Columbian trapiche emerald solitaire, the precious stone cut and faceted in the shape of a perfect heart, which in no way diminished the impact of the unique six point star that lived inside the gem. That center stone was then wreathed in a halo of sparkling, icy white diamonds. It was doubtless the perfect ring for Makoto. And surrounding it, glittering warmly against a background of black velvet were at least two dozen simple yet elegant bands of carved gold as a not so subtle hint.

"Will that be cash, check or charge?"

Her wounded heart soothed, Naru slipped effortlessly back into the role of shopkeeper, securing the engagement ring in a velvet presentation box which she tied with a ribbon, then bagged for him.

Nephrite seemed equally soothed now, his mood bubbly and upbeat even as fished out his gold card and laid it on the counter. But as Naru efficiently rang up the transaction, he couldn't help but ask, "How did you know which one would be perfect for her?"

Now every shopkeeper had a handful of stock responses to queries such as his, but this time the standard line simply would not do. Not in this case. This time was special.

Naru cocked her head to one side and happily chirped, "A little star told me."


End file.
